Mandume ya Ndemufayo

Mandume ya Ndemufayo (1894 - 6 February 1917) was the last Oukwanyama king, a subset of the Ovambo people of southern Angola and northern Namibia. Ya Ndemufayo ascended to the throne in 1911 and reigned until 1917, when he died by suicide or machine gun fire while under attack by South African forces. Ya Ndemufayo is regarded as a national hero in both Angola and Namibia and one of the most important historical figures in Angola.

No European colonizer dared to challenge the well-organized and well-armed Ovambo kingdoms until 1915, when World War I began, coinciding with a massive local drought. During the Battle of Omongwa, ya Ndemufayo and the Kwanyamas held out for three days against a Portuguese attack. Concurrently, South African forces peacefully conquered the portion of the Oukwanyama kingdom that was previously located in German South West Africa. Ya Ndemufayo was forced to relocate the Kwanyama capital to the area of South West Africa due to heavy losses. Ya Ndemufayo died in battle against the South Africans in February 1917, after refusing to submit to South African control. The cause of his death is debatable; South African records show that he was killed by machine-gun fire, while oral and popular history describe his death as suicide.

Following his death in 1917, the Oukwanyama kingship was abolished until Cornelius Mwetupunga Shelungu was appointed chief in February 1998.

Mandume ya Ndemufayo is one of nine Namibian national heroes recognized at the inauguration of the country's Heroes' Acre near Windhoek. Ya Ndemufayo is honored with a granite tombstone with his name engraved and his portrait plastered onto the slab.