Jakob Morenga
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Jacob Morenga, also Jakob, Jacobus, Marengo, and Marenga, known as the "black
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
", (1875 – 20 September 1907) was an important figure in
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 ...
, then the German colony of
German South West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...
. He was chief leader in the insurrection against the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
which took place between 1904 and 1908, and was best known for forging an alliance between the rival
Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Nama genocide * Herero chat, a species of bird ...
and Nama tribes.


Life

Jacob Morenga was born to a Herero mother and Nama father. He was likely educated by Christian missionaries, and during his early adulthood, he worked at a copper mine and a Catholic mission in the vicinity of
Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...
. Morenga first became politically active through his association with Willem Christian, a leader of the Bondelswarts people. After Christian's son and successor, Jan Abraham Christian, was killed by German troops, the Bondelswarts launched a brief uprising in October 1903. Morenga served as one of the primary commanders of this uprising, which established his early reputation as a skilled tactician. However, the bulk of Morenga's historical reputation stems from his leadership of anti-German guerrilla forces during the Herero and Nama War of 1904–1907. It often proved difficult for Morenga to maintain proper control of his armies, as their preferred methods of attack differed fundamentally. The Herero sought direct and open combat with German forces, while the Nama preferred more
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
-like tactics. The group under Morenga planned their attacks from the hidden fortress of
ǁKhauxaǃnas ǁKhauxaǃnas (Khoekhoegowab: ''passively defend people from an enemy'', Afrikaans / Dutch language, Dutch name Schans Vlakte: ''fortified valley'') is an uninhabited village with a ruined fortress in south-eastern Namibia, east of the Great Kar ...
in southern Namibia. Captain
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), popularly known as the Lion of Africa (), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four years, with a force ...
played a major role in the German pursuit of Jacob Morenga. During a 1906 gunfight against Morenga and his men, Captain von Lettow-Vorbeck suffered injuries to his left eye, which was left blind, and his chest. The diverse and widely successful methods of attack used by Morenga's forces were enough to force a
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
in the German Reichstag, due to the relatively heavy losses suffered by German troops. Morenga's leadership and tactical skills also led him to be praised even by opposing German commanders. After more than 50 battles against German troops, Morenga was injured in an ambush on 4 May 1906, an attack which also killed twenty-three of his men. Soon afterward, Morenga turned himself in to the Cape Mounted Police (CMP), who imprisoned him in Tokai. The Germans called upon Britain to extradite Morenga, but Morenga submitted a request for political asylum that prevented the extradition from occurring. In June 1907, Morenga was released, on the condition that he would not return to German South West Africa. Despite this, he shortly began traveling northward, amassing followers and materiel. He soon began the task of assembling an army of native peoples to once again attack German troops. He gathered together the now-dispersed tribes of the Herero, Nama, and Witboois, leading them into battle once more against the
German colonial empire The German colonial empire () constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies, and territories of the German Empire. Unified in 1871, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-lived attempts at colonization by Kleinstaat ...
. By August, it had become clear that Morenga had no intention of adhering to the conditions of his release. The CMP issued an arrest warrant against Morenga on 9 August 1907; meanwhile, Morenga successfully crossed the border into German South West Africa at some point between 13 and 19 August. By September 1907, German and Cape Colony forces were cooperating to locate Morenga. He was eventually shot and killed in a battle between his forces and the combined German and South African forces on 20 September 1907 at Eenzaamheid.


Recognition

Jacob Morenga is one of nine national heroes of Namibia that were identified at the inauguration of the country's Heroes' Acre near
Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
. Founding president
Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma ( ; 12May 19298February 2025) was a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first president of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and t ...
remarked in his inauguration speech on 26 August 2002 that:
Born of a Herero mother and a Nama father, Marenga had a vision of broad African nationalism which transcended narrow ethnic loyalties and he was therefore designated as 'the man of the future'. He employed scientific guerrilla tactics with the multi-ethnic troops under his command and engaged the German colonial army in more than fifty battles. ..To his revolutionary spirit and his visionary memory we humbly offer our honor and respect.
Morenga is honoured in form of a granite tombstone with his name engraved and his portrait plastered onto the slab. A statue of Morenga is situated at the cemetery of Warmbad in the far South of Namibia. Jakob Marengo Secondary School and Tutorial College in Windhoek's
Khomasdal Khomasdal is a suburb of Namibia's capital of Windhoek in the Khomas Region. Founded as Windhoek's residential area for Coloured people, Khomasdal still is primarily composed of Coloured people. In October 2006, the City of Windhoek announc ...
suburb is named after him.


In popular culture

In 20th century
German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...
,
Uwe Timm Uwe Timm (; born 30 March 1940 in Hamburg) is a German writer. Life and work Uwe Timm was born in 1940 in Bad Kreuznach, and was the youngest son in his family. His brother, 16 years his senior, was a soldier in the and died in Ukraine in 1943 ...
's 1973 novel '' Morenga'' revolves around Jacob Morenga's uprising.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morenga, Jakobus 1875 births 1907 deaths Namibian rebels People of the Herero and Nama genocide Indigenous people in German South West Africa Herero people National heroes of Namibia Nama people Namibian military personnel People shot dead by law enforcement officers in South Africa