Emil Appolus (10 March 1935, in Vaalgras, ǁKaras Region - 28 May 2005, in

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

) was a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n politician and businessperson. Living in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, Appolus was part of early discussions on Namibian independence. In 1957, Appolus became a founding member of the Ovamboland People's Congress, the forerunner to the current ruling party, SWAPO. When the OPC merged to create SWANU, Sam Nujoma and Fanuel Kozonguizi were two of the five members of the executive committee. He authored the first Black newspaper in Namibia, ''The South West News'' (

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

: ''Die Suidwes Nuus''). ''The South West News'' was later banned for nationalistic content. After involvement in the 1960-65 Congo Crisis, Appolus ended up in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

(now

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

), where he was deported to

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

for illegally leaving the country. After receiving bail, Appolus fled to Bechuanaland (now

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

) en route to Tanganyika (now

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

). Appolus was the first SWAPO representative in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, an important position for drawing support for national liberation. In 1969, Appolus was sent to represent SWAPO at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Appolus, along with Andreas Shipanga and others, broke with SWAPO during the 1975-76 Shipanga Rebellion. Beginning in 1975, he led the Namibia Democratic Party. Returning to Namibia in 1978, Appolus became an early member of SWAPO-D. From 1985 to 1989, SWAPO-D was part of a Transitional Government of National Unity and Appolus was a member of the National Assembly. However, the TNUG and SWAPO-D were unpopular and SWAPO-D did not earn a seat in the first national elections in Namibian history, held in 1989. Appolus retired from politics following the disbandment of SWAPO-D in 1989. He became a businessperson and at one time owned a fishing company. Appolus married Putuse Appolus in 1952, an independence activist who was later recognised as a national heroine of Namibia for her role in the Old Location Uprising on 10 December 1959. The couple had two children. He suffered a stroke in 2004 which physically weakened him. He died in

on 28 May 2005 at the age of 70. He is buried in his home village of Vaalgras.Veteran Namibian politician Appolus dies
in The Namibian, 30 May 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appolus, Emil 1935 births 2005 deaths People from ǁKaras Region SWAPO Democrats politicians SWAPO politicians Namibia Democratic Party politicians