Penda Ya Ndakolo

Jafet Penda Ya Ndakolo (born 23 March 1960 at Oshigambo) is a Namibian SWAPO politician and current governor of Oshikoto Region. He served as Minister of Defence from 2015 to 2020. After losing his position as minister in 2020 he was appointed to his old position as governor again.^[1]

Jafet Penda Ya Ndakolo
Governor of Oshikoto Region
Incumbent
Assumed office 2020
President	Hage Geingob
Prime Minister	Saara Kuugongelwa
Preceded by	Henock Kankoshi
In office 2004–2015
President	Hifikepunye Pohamba
Prime Minister	Nahas Angula
Succeeded by	Henock Kankoshi
Minister of Defence
In office 2015–2020
President	Hage Geingob
Prime Minister	Saara Kuugongelwa
Preceded by	Nahas Angula
Succeeded by	Peter Vilho
Personal details
Born	(1960-03-23) 23 March 1960 (age 64) Oshigambo, Oshikoto Region, South West Africa (now Namibia)
Political party	SWAPO

Ya Ndakolo fought for the Peoples Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).^[2] He studied at the Eastern and Southern Management Institute (ESAMA), and was from 1980 to 1989 a specialist in radio communication warfare.

He was a SWAPO district coordinator between 1990 and 1992 before getting elected as Regional Councillor for Omuthiya Gwiipundi Constituency in Oshikoto Region, eventually being elevated as the Region's governor. He replaced Nico Kaiyamo as a member of the National Council in 2004.

In 2014, he was awarded The Most Distinguished Order of Namibia: First Class by president Hifikepunye Pohamba.^[3]

References

1. "Goodbye". Namibian Sun. 10 April 2020. p. 1.
2. Nawatiseb, Engel (2012-08-20). "Namibia: From Freedom Fighter to Politician". New Era (Windhoek). Retrieved 2017-09-08.
3. "Namibians honoured by President". New Era Newspaper Namibia. 2014-08-28. Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2017-09-08.