Naval Base Lieutenant General John Sinvula Mutwa is a riverine base of the

Namibian Navy The Namibian Navy is the maritime warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's Navy has been slowest of the three Arms of Service. The force was only formally established on 11 September 1998 as a maritime ...

. It is located on Impalila Island at the confluence of the

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

and Chobe rivers.

History

The base was originally constructed by the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...

and used by the South African Marine Corps. It was abandoned in 1989 during South Africa's withdrawal from Namibia. After Namibia's independence it was used as a secondary school. In 2011 the

conducted a Navy Coastal-land, Riverine and Meteorological survey, which found critical security gaps. The report led to the creation of the naval district 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 ...

covering

, Chobe and Okavango rivers. Rehabilitation of the base began in 2014 and was completed in 2017. On 21 June 2019 Naval Base Impalila was commissioned into service. In March 2024 it was renamed in honour of the former Chief of Defence Lieutenant General

John Mutwa Lieutenant General 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 (NDF). He was appointed the commander of the Namibian Army in 2011, and ...

Current status

The base was commissioned into service by the Minister of Defence Penda ya Ndakolo on 21 June 2019. A

Namibian Marine Corps The Namibian Marines Corps are the marines of Namibia and part of the Namibian Navy and the overall Namibian Defence Force. History The Marine Corps are a recent addition to the Namibian Defence Force due to the gradual establishment of the Nam ...

Operational Boat Team is permanently stationed at the base and conducts

riverine A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...

patrols.

Commandants

References

{{reflist Military of Namibia 2019 establishments in Namibia