Swapo Party Regional Mobilisation and Information Officer for the Zambezi Region, Dorothy Kabuka, has reminded residents of Masida Village in Linyanti District that Namibia's independence was not granted on a silver platter but came as a result of war, both within and from exile.
Kabula implored the community to remember the elders who remained inside Namibia, fighting underground by various means, and went through suffering and torture at the hands of the colonial South African Regime.
Kabuka addressed a belated Heroes Day commemoration on Sunday at Masida village.
The event was held at the entrance to Masida Village, where the late Dickson Masida, who was a resident at the village, was tortured along with others and literally roasted on fire by the agents of the apartheid regime in 1968.
Kabula told the community of Masida not to forget the suffering of Judea Lyaboloma Maxwell Kulibabika, Blackface Mutoiwa, David Babusa, and others for the role they played in the liberation struggle.
The former councillor of Linyanti Constituency was not kind in her words, expressing her disappointment at observing some people turning against the SWAPO Party their forefathers had died for.
"It is a big disappointment, especially here in Masida, where I come from. You are always tangled in many things, and when it comes to voting, you vote for different people, forgetting that your forefathers, who were tortured here, did it for your freedom. You only say "they were roasted here," but you are betraying their blood."
Kabula reminded the gathering that Namibia's liberty was achieved through Swapo and said the party went further to set the nation on a developmental agenda, which she, however, stressed is a process that takes years.
She encouraged Namibians to appreciate what the government has done and continues to do, saying its efforts require citizens' support.
The gathering witnessed a demonstration of how their heroes were tortured and burned.
Mary-Clare Mufaweli, a resident of Masida Village, was there and shared her experience.
"When I burned my leg, we were sleeping in the courtyard; before the duvets came, we were covered in a traditional mat, next to the fire. The South African soldier got inside the courtyard while my mother was sleeping in the house with my younger sisters. I heard my mother screaming when I woke up. I never knew there was another boer behind me who pushed me before I fell with my leg on the fire. I dragged myself into the house to grab one of my sisters and came out with my mother."
Moffat Mizeko, a headman who at the time was but a young man, recalls PLAN fighters who had stayed for three weeks before one handed himself over to the South African Defence Force.