Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare is a Namibian politician and academic at the University of Namibia who served as the Secretary General of the SWAPO Party Youth League from 2007 to 2015.
Elijah Ngurare | |
|---|---|
| Secretary General of the SWAPO Youth League | |
| In office 2007–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Paulus Kapia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elijah Tjitunga Ngurare October 28, 1970 Nkurenkuru |
| Nationality | Namibian |
| Political party | SWAPO |
| Residence | Windhoek |
Early life and education
editElijah Ngurare was born on 28 October 1970 into a peasant family at Nkurenkuru during the South African Border War.[1] His father had four wives and his mother was the youngest in the union. As a little boy, he looked after his father’s cattle and goats like all other boys at the time. He is the first born to his mother’s nine children.
Ngurare attended school at ELCIN Nkurenkuru High School, Linus Shashipapo Secondary School, Rundu Senior Secondary School, and Kolin Foundation Secondary School in Arandis,[2][3] He then studied at the Central State University, Ohio (USA) with a presidential honours scholarship. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Water Resources Management and International Relations.
He then pursued a Master of Laws from the University of Dundee, Scotland, where he held a British Chevening Scholarship, and a PhD from the National University of Ireland, Cork in 2009.
Political career
editNgurare's political activeness began in 1983 at Nkurenkuru High School and continued at Linus Shashipapo Secondary School, where he was a student during the founding of the student movement Namibia National Students Organisation in 1984. He held various student positions and was active in Section, Branches and District Leadership of SWAPO Party Youth League. Ngurare rose to political prominence as Secretary of Information, Publicity and Mobilisation of the SWAPO Party Youth League (SPYL) under Paulus Kapia in 2002 before becoming its secretary general in 2007, and being subsequently re-elected in 2012.[4] Ngurare was appointed by SWAPO vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah into the paty's paliamentry list during the party's electrol college.[5]
Business career
editIn 2015 he lost his position as secretary-general and expelled from Swapo alongside Affirmative Repositioning founder Job Amupanda for "bringing the party's name into disrepute, and [..] insulting party leaders".[3] He was reinstated as SWAPO member following a lengthy court process. He then joined the Ministry of Agriculture as Director for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation coordination in March 2020.[6] Ngurare also served as deputy executive director in the same ministry.[7] a positioned he resigned on 06 December 2024 to pave way for his transition to parliament.[8]
He served on the board of directors at Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd,[9] Namdeb Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Africa Online (Pty) Ltd, MultiChoice Namibia, Kalahari Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Namibia Water Corporation Ltd.
Personal life
editNgurare is married to Albertina Mbute Ngurare. They have four children. As a Christian, he is Lutheran by religion and an ardent church goer.
References
edit- ^ "Dr. Ngurare Interview". Archived from the original on 2013-04-13. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
- ^ "University College Cork (UCC): Faculty of Law". www.ucc.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-09-23.
- ^ a b Mongudhi, Tileni (25 March 2022). "The Nine Lives of Elijah Ngurare". The Namibian. pp. 1, 7.
- ^ Paulus, Paulus (3 September 2012). "SPYL re-elects Ngurare". New Era. allafrica.com.
- ^ Shikololo, Aletta (2024-09-10). "Swapo pot burns old guard…as electoral college delivers a mixed stew - New Era". Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Marketing, Intouch Interactive (3 February 2020). "Ngurare to join agri ministry as director - Government - Namibian Sun". www.namibiansun.com. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
- ^ Namibian, Anna Shinana, The (2024-04-07). "20 water pumps stolen in Ohangwena". The Namibian. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Matthys, Donald (2024-12-06). "Ngurare resigns from public service following Swapo's election victory". The Namibian. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "Leadership Structure". NamDeb Diamond Corporation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2012-10-22.