McHenry Venaani (Secretary General)

McHenry Venaani was the youngest politician to join the National Assembly in 2002 at the age of 25 years. Born in September 8, 1977, Venaani is DTA’s firebrand and once contested for the top position in the party, going against party President Katuutire Kaura in 2005. The contest cost him his position of party secretary general. In November 2008, the Windhoek native retook his position as Secretary General, beating Alois Gende 111-35 in party elections.

Venaani schooled at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School in Khomasdal. He pursued tertiary education through the University of Wolverhampton.

Katuutire Kaura (President)

DTA of Namibia President Katuutire Kaura was born on February 3, 1941 in the Otjozondjupa Region at Ombujondjupa. Kaura first served as the vice president between 1989 and 1998. He ascended to the presidency when Mishake Muyongo left the DTA of Namibia. Between April 2000 and March 2005, he served as the leader of the DTA/UDF Coalition.

A teacher by profession, Kaura went into politics in the early 1960s. Thanks to the influence of the South West Africa National Union (Swanu), he went into exile in 1964 until 1978.

He took the opportunity to study while in exile, specifically in the United States (US), obtaining various qualifications from a teacher’s diploma to bachelors and masters degree qualifications in various disciplines, before returning to Namibia. He also held teaching posts while in the US.

Kaura joined the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo of Namibia) in 1975 eventually serving as chairperson, when Nudo was part of the DTA alliance.

In 1983, he was one of the delegates to the Multi-Party Conference. He was also a deputy minister in the Transitional Government of National Unity. He joined Parliament at independence in 1990 and served on various parliamentary committees as an ordinary member and in some as chairperson or vice chairperson. He was the vice chairperson of the security committee from 1990 to 1998 before becoming chair from 1998 to 2000. He has since been an ordinary member of the security committee as well as a member to the privilege committee.

Kaura resides in Windhoek and farms in Outjo in the Kunene Region. His legislative interests are in agriculture, education and justice.

Phillemon Moongo (Vice President)

Phillemon Moongo was once an instructor on guerrilla tactics and a platoon commander of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), the Swapo Party’s armed wing in the early 1970s. Moongo was born on April 11, 1943 at Epale in Oniipa, in the northern region of the country. He attended primary school at Oniipa and secondary school at Augustineum in Okahandja.

Moongo left the Swapo in 1976, after a fall-out with the party. He was arrested and detained from 1976 to 1978, first in Zambia and then Tanzania for taking part in protests against poor living conditions of exiles and corruption within the party. After his release Moongo went to Sweden before returning to Namibia in the early 1980s to join the Swapo-Democrats (Swapo-D). He served as the chairman of Swapo-D for the northern regions and was a member of the Transitional Government of National Unity.

In 1990 he joined the DTA of Namibia becoming the coordinator for the party in the north. Besides being a politician, Moongo has also been a Deputy Headman for Enkenye in Oshakati and chaired the health committee of the same town’s municipality. He was also the President of the Namibia Bus and Taxi Association in the northern regions for five years.

Johan de Waal (Chairperson)

Johan Claasen de Waal was born on September 17, 1949 in Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of Pretoria among other qualifications. He is a founding member of the DTA of Namibia, although he joined on the ticket of the Republican Party when the DTA was still an alliance. However, in 2003 he moved from Republican Party to the Action for Democratic Change, a political group within the DTA of Namibia.

De Waal is DTA’s shadow minister of finance and the party’s Spokesperson on Financial and Trade matters in Parliament. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1995. He serves as the Chairman of the Parliament Standing Committee on Public Accounts. He is also a member of the Standing Committee on Economics Natural Recourses and Public Administration of the National Assembly.


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