Placido Hilukilwa
MANY people survived the Cassinga massacre not because they could run faster than those who perished, but because God, in His unlimited goodness and mercy, saved them.
This was said by Lucia Kamungungu, a Cassinga survivor who spoke on behalf of fellow survivors during a commemorative event in the Enghandja village in the Ohangwena Region on Wednesday.
“We thank the Almighty God. He saved us. We are alive and well in a free Namibia 44 years after the massacre,” she said.
COMMEMORATION: Licia Kamungungu addressing the commemorative event at Enghandja on Wednesday, with fellow Cassinga survivors standing behind her. Members of the community listen attentively to the speeches. Photos shared by a community member. 
COMMEMORATION: Licia Kamungungu addressing the commemorative event at Enghandja on Wednesday, with fellow Cassinga survivors standing behind her. Members of the community listen attentively to the speeches. Photos shared by a community member.
The 4th of May is a Public Holiday that commemorates the attack of the South African Defense Force (SADF) against the Cassinga settlement that housed thousands of Namibians in the Huila province of Angola.
Between 600 and 1 000 people died when the SADF launched a surprise airborne attack on Cassinga, located about 250 km from the Namibia-Angola border.
Swapo and the Angolan government insist that Cassinga was a refugee transit camp, but the SADF’s version was that Cassinga was a Forward Commanding Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), Swapo’s armed wing that fought against the SADF since August 1966.
Hafeni Hatutale, Swapo’s regional coordinator for Ohangwena, was the keynote speaker at the Enghandja event which was also attended by former regional governor Usko Nghaamwa, a number of Cassinga survivors, veterans of the liberation struggle and members of the local community, mostly young people who demonstrated a keen interest in knowing more about what really happened during the liberation struggle.
