Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

John Sinvula Mutwa (23 September 1960 – 17 June 2021) was a Namibian military officer whose last appointment was as chief of the

Namibian Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Nami ...

(NDF). He was appointed the commander of the

Namibian Army The Namibian Army is the ground warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's army was the fastest of the three arms of service. The first units of the Army were deployed as early as 1990. The Army was formed ...

in 2011, and NDF Chief on 31 December 2013, a position from which he retired on 31 March 2020.

Career

PLAN

Mutwa's military career began in 1975 when he joined the Peoples Liberational Army of Namibia in

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 ...

. In 1976 he underwent military training in

Kongwa Kongwa District is one of the seven districts of the Dodoma Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by Manyara Region, to the east by Morogoro Region, to the south by Mpwapwa District, and to the west by Chamwino District. Its district ...

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 ...

, and completed the officer cadet course. In 1978 he then completed the

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

and Counter Intelligence Course in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Between 1979 and 1980 he was the Regional Staff Officer for Administration on the Eastern Front, while between 1980 and 1989 he was the regional chief of reconnaissance at the eastern and northern fronts.

NDF

In 1990 he joined the Namibian Defence Force as a pioneer and was given the rank of lieutenant Colonel and appointed assistant director: military intelligence. In 1994 he was reassigned as the commanding officer of Namibia's logistic support battalion in

Grootfontein Grootfontein (, named after the nearby hot springs) is a city with 26,839 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is one of the three towns in the Otavi Triangle, situated on the B8 road (Namibia), B8 national road that lead ...

with the same rank. In 1996 he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and appointed army chief of staff in the office of the army commander. In 1998 he was redeployed as the army chief of staff: personnel and logistics, in this position he was then deployed to ''Operation Atlantic'', Namibia's contribution to the SADC allied forces to the DRC during the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...

. While deployed in DRC he was appointed the chief of staff of the SADC Allied Forces between 1999 and 2000 and seconded as a commissioner on the Joint Military Commission on DRC in 2000. Namibia's Operation Atlantic ended in 2002 with all troops deployed back to Namibia. In 2004 he was appointed the

Defence Attache Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. In 2006 he was promoted to brigadier general and appointed the chief of staff logistics at Defence HQ. Mutwa was appointed commander of the army in April 2011. At this occasion, he was promoted from brigadier general to major general. He served in that position until 31 December 2013, when he took over the position as NDF Chief from

Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah Lt. Gen. Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah (born 13 December 1952) is a Namibian diplomat, former military officer and currently serving as First Gentleman of Namibia since 21 March 2025. He served as the chief of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) from 24 ...

. He retire from Active military service in March 2020. In March 2024 the

Naval Base Impalila Naval Base Lieutenant General John Sinvula Mutwa is a riverine base of the Namibian Navy. It is located on Impalila Island at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe rivers. History The base was originally constructed by the South African Defen ...

was renamed after him.

Qualifications

1976– Officer Cadet Course –

1981 – 1982 Political Science and Leadership Course –

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. 1993 – 1994 Senior Command and Staff Course-

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 1995 Military Logistics Officers Course – UK. 1996 Advanced Military Law Course at the

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

. 1997 Defence Executive Management Course joint programme between the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

. 1998 – 1999 National Security Strategy Course-

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 ...

Honours and decorations

* Excellent Order of the Eagle, First Class. * Army Pioneer Medal ribbon

Namibian Army Pioneer Medal *

Mandume Ya Ndemufayo Operation Medal * Namibia Independence medal

Independence Medal * Army Ten Years Service Medal Ribbon

Army Ten Years Service Medal *

Army Twenty Years Service Medal * NDF Campaign Medal

Campaign Medal * NDF commendation ribbon

NDF Commendation Medal

Private life

Mutwa was married with three children. He died on 17 June 2021 at

Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It had 46,401 inhabitants in 2023, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. It is located on the B8 national roa ...

from COVID-19. He was declared a national hero of Namibia and awarded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

. President

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

also declared three days of mourning. He was interred with full military honours at Mahundu village in the

Zambezi Region The Zambezi Region, known as the Caprivi Region until 2013, is one of Namibia's fourteen regions, situated in the north-eastern part of the country along the Zambezi River. The region's capital is Katima Mulilo. The Katima Mulilo Airport is ...

on 1 July 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutwa, John 1960 births 2021 deaths Namibian military personnel Namibian expatriates in Tanzania People's Liberation Army of Namibia personnel National heroes of Namibia Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia