Heroes' Acre (Namibia)

Heroes Acre

The Heroes' Acre is an official war memorial of the government of Namibia. Built less than 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) outside the capital of Windhoek, Heroes' Acre opened on 26 August 2002 and operates for the purpose of "foster(ing) a spirit of patriotism and nationalism, and to pass on the legacy to the future generations of Namibia".^[1]

Location and description

The Heroes' Acre monument is situated south of Windhoek on the B1 national road to Rehoboth. It is built as a symmetric polygon with a marble obelisk and a bronze statue of the Unknown Soldier at its centre. The site contains parade grounds and a grandstand for 5000 people. The burial site consists of 174 tombs, not all of which are currently^[update] occupied.^[2]

Construction controversy

Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from the North Korea, was given a N$60 million contract from Namibia to build the 732-acre (2.96 km²) monument. The contract was awarded without any competitive tendering process, and eventually the construction cost doubled.^[2] The intransparent contracting of foreign manual labour has been criticised by corruption watchdog insight Namibia.^[3]

The memorial has been described as "monstrous" and its erection was speculated to "reveal a lack of African self-confidence". The statue of the Unknown Soldier resembles the physical features of Sam Nujoma,^[2] Namibia's founding president and ultimately the initiator of its erection.^[1]

In May 2005, a report in The Namibian noted that Heroes Acre was "already showing signs of decay". In particular, a bronze statue of a soldier had suffered damage, as had the plinth on which it stood. Some of the gold-coloured letters forming an inscription on the plinth were broken or missing, and the letters were "made of a cement-like substance, which had been painted gold and then glued to the plinth" Since this article appeared it has now been restored to its former glory.^[4]

Notable people buried at Heroes Acre

• Dimo Hamaambo
• Richard Kapelwa Kabajani (former cabinet minister and ambassador to Cuba)
• John Pandeni
• Mose Penaani Tjitendero (first speaker of National Assembly)
• Peter Tsheehama, People's Liberation Army of Namibia commander and Chief of Namibian Intelligence

Honored heroes

Many notable Namibians from the colonial era are also honored at Heroes Acre. Among these are Hosea Kutako, Jacob Marenga, Samuel Maherero and Markus Kooper, a war veteran who left his wife and family and went to the UN headquarters in New York from Hoachanas to fight for the independence of his country.

See also

• National Heroes Acre (Zimbabwe)

Gallery

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References

1. ^ ^{a b} Windhoek City Council: What to see, National Monuments in Windhoek
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Heroes' Acre Monument Namibia". Namibia-travel.net. http://www.namibia-travel.net/southnamibia/heroesacre.htm. Retrieved 8 December 2010. 
3. ^ "The hidden world of public contracting" (pdf). insight Namibia. March 2008. http://www.hsf.org.na/download/TrackerMarch08.pdf. 
4. ^ Menges, Werner (2005-05-06). "Heroes' monument losing battle". The Namibian. http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=17897&no_cache=1. Retrieved 2008-09-07. 

Coordinates: 22°39′50″S 17°04′42″E / 22.6638°S 17.0783°E / -22.6638; 17.0783