Maurus Nekaro (August 25, 1955 – March 4, 2013) 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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and member of the

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. Nekaro served as former governor Smith the governor of

Kavango Region Kavango (before 1998: Okavango) was one of the thirteen regions of Namibia until it was split into the Kavango East and Kavango West Regions in 2013. Its capital was Rundu. In the north, Kavango bordered the Cuando Cubango Province of Angola, an ...

, one of Namibia's thirteen regions, from December 2010 until his death on March 4, 2013. Nekaro graduated from Rundu Secondary School in

Rundu Rundu is the capital and the largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River, about above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted ...

South-West Africa South West Africa was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. South West Africa bordered Angola ( a Portu ...

(present-day Namibia), in 1977. He received both his Bachelor of Commerce and Masters of Philosophy degrees from the University of Western Cape in

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 ...

. He also attended the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to ...

. Nekaro served as the mayor of

, the capital of Kavango Region, from 1997 until 2003. He then served as the deputy director of finance for the Ohangwena Regional Council prior from 2004 to 2010. In December 2010, Nekaro was appointed as the Governor of the northern Kavango Region by

Namibian President The president of Namibia is the head of state and head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, government, acts as chair of the Cabinet of Namibia, Cabinet and is the commander-in-chie ...

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1935) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 Namibian presidential election, 2004 presidential election overwhelming ...

. Governor Maurus Nekaro became ill after attending the Mandume Day ceremony held at the Omhedi Palace in the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga and O ...

, Namibia, on March 2, 2013. He was discovered unresponsive at the Monte Carlos Bed & Breakfast in Eenhana, where he was staying. He was driven to an Eenhana District Hospital by his driver, where he was pronounced dead early on March 4, 2013, at the age of 58. An autopsy conducted at Oshakati State Hospital preliminarily determined that he died from chronic high blood pressure. He was survived by his wife and seven children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nekaro, Maurus 1955 births 2013 deaths Governors of Kavango Region Mayors of places in Namibia People from Kavango Region University of the Western Cape alumni SWAPO politicians