Geingob breaks ground for Chief Kutako’s shrine and museum
The decision to construct a national monument for Kutako was taken during the second land conference in 2018 and after the Omaheke regional council expressed its desire for Kutako’s homestead to be declared a national heritage site in 2010.
NAMPA
AMINIUS
President Hage Geingob on Friday presided over the ground-breaking ceremony marking the official kick-off for the construction of a homestead shrine and memorial museum for the late Chief Hosea Kutako in Toasis village in the Aminius constituency.
The shrine and museum will be constructed at the historic chief’s homestead in remembrance of his heroic role towards Namibia’s struggle for independence.
The decision to construct a national monument for Kutako was taken during the second land conference in 2018 and after the Omaheke regional council expressed its desire for Kutako’s homestead to be declared a national heritage site in 2010.
The construction will be done in two phases - phase one consists of the museum, whose primary exhibit will be the late chief’s dwelling displayed as an artefact, and the second component of phase one will be the spiritual hut to serve all functional spiritual purposes within the greater traditional homestead.
Other components of phase one include a restaurant, gathering area, kraal, parking area and a borehole.
As phase two, the shrine will comprise of the main statue of Chief Kutako, parade grounds, an amphitheatre and ablution facilities.
Symbol and icon
Speaking during the ceremony, Geingob said as national monuments are symbols of a national community used to represent a community in a way that unites its people, Chief Kutako is a symbol and icon of Namibia’s national community whose role as a leader and unifier of all Namibians unites the people of the country.
He added that by honouring the late Ovaherero paramount chief through the envisaged museum and shrine, Namibians are acknowledging the significance of the ideas and values Kutako exuded throughout his life.
“Not only are we honouring a luminary who contributed immensely to our struggle for self-rule, but we are also conveying to the world the story of Namibia and the brave men and women whose blood, sweat and tears propelled us along the journey to independence,” Geingob said.
Rewriting the struggle
Current Ovaherero Paramount Chief, Advocate Vekuii Rukoro, lauded the president’s decision to transform Kutako’s homestead into a national legacy, saying he is rewriting another chapter in the county’s liberation struggle.
“Your decision to transform this homestead has touched the hearts of so many in Aminuis, including myself,” he said.
Described as ‘a man of all people’, a revolutionary and visionary leader who played a major role in Namibia’s struggle for independence, the late Kutako died on 18 July 1970, aged 100.
AMINIUS
President Hage Geingob on Friday presided over the ground-breaking ceremony marking the official kick-off for the construction of a homestead shrine and memorial museum for the late Chief Hosea Kutako in Toasis village in the Aminius constituency.
The shrine and museum will be constructed at the historic chief’s homestead in remembrance of his heroic role towards Namibia’s struggle for independence.
The decision to construct a national monument for Kutako was taken during the second land conference in 2018 and after the Omaheke regional council expressed its desire for Kutako’s homestead to be declared a national heritage site in 2010.
The construction will be done in two phases - phase one consists of the museum, whose primary exhibit will be the late chief’s dwelling displayed as an artefact, and the second component of phase one will be the spiritual hut to serve all functional spiritual purposes within the greater traditional homestead.
Other components of phase one include a restaurant, gathering area, kraal, parking area and a borehole.
As phase two, the shrine will comprise of the main statue of Chief Kutako, parade grounds, an amphitheatre and ablution facilities.
Symbol and icon
Speaking during the ceremony, Geingob said as national monuments are symbols of a national community used to represent a community in a way that unites its people, Chief Kutako is a symbol and icon of Namibia’s national community whose role as a leader and unifier of all Namibians unites the people of the country.
He added that by honouring the late Ovaherero paramount chief through the envisaged museum and shrine, Namibians are acknowledging the significance of the ideas and values Kutako exuded throughout his life.
“Not only are we honouring a luminary who contributed immensely to our struggle for self-rule, but we are also conveying to the world the story of Namibia and the brave men and women whose blood, sweat and tears propelled us along the journey to independence,” Geingob said.
Rewriting the struggle
Current Ovaherero Paramount Chief, Advocate Vekuii Rukoro, lauded the president’s decision to transform Kutako’s homestead into a national legacy, saying he is rewriting another chapter in the county’s liberation struggle.
“Your decision to transform this homestead has touched the hearts of so many in Aminuis, including myself,” he said.
Described as ‘a man of all people’, a revolutionary and visionary leader who played a major role in Namibia’s struggle for independence, the late Kutako died on 18 July 1970, aged 100.
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