Kalla Gertze

Reinhard "Kalla" Gertze (1960 – 13 March 2008) was a Namibian university lecturer and parliamentarian as a member of the Congress of Democrats party.^[1] He was in the National Assembly from 2005 until his death in 2008. He had previously been a lecturer at the University of Namibia.

Personal

Gertze was born in 1960 in Otjimbingwe, Erongo Region. He died on 13 March 2008 in Windhoek. He was eulogized by fellow detainee and friend Pauline Dempers.^[2]

Education

Gertze left for exile into Angola with SWAPO in 1978. He soon left to the United Nations Institute for Namibia in Zambia. After finishing his studies in Zambia, Gertze left for France, where he earned a bachelor's degree and a teaching diploma. Gertze later returned to France and earned a Master of Arts degree in Linguistic Theories and Literature at the Metz University.

Torture

While in exile with SWAPO, Gertze was arrested and served 6 years in the Lubango dungeons, a SWAPO prison in Lubango, Angola. After returning to Namibia after independence, Gertze served as President of the Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS) movement which worked for government recognition of past abuses of SWAPO detainees while in exile. An estimated 2,000 Namibians died in 5 prison camps run by SWAPO while in exile.^[3]

References