‘Don’t be captured like chickens’: Mwandingi urges former combatants to stay fit
Placido Hilukilwa COLONEL (Retired) Constancio Mwandingi is still alert and ready, the same mindset he had during the armed liberation struggle and during his days as a senior officer of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF). Now he is passing that message to the men and women he once fought alongside. Mwandingi, also known as Mwiya ... The post ‘Don’t be captured like chickens’: Mwandingi urges former combatants to stay fit appeared first on Informanté .
COLONEL (Retired) Constancio Mwandingi is still alert and ready, the same mindset he had during the armed liberation struggle and during his days as a senior officer of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF).
Now he is passing that message to the men and women he once fought alongside.
Mwandingi, also known as Mwiya wa Nelindi, made a heartfelt appeal to fellow retired liberation fighters to take care of their health, cut down on alcohol and look out for one another.
The majority of war veterans from both sides of the Namibian conflict have reached retirement age, with some now struggling with excessive drinking and other unhealthy behaviours.
“Let us remain physically fit. We fought for this country and we still have a duty to defend it,” Mwandingi said.
PICTURED: FPCA Deputy Chairperson, Colonel (Retired) Constancio Mwandingi. Photo: Contributed
“How do you defend the country if you are infirm and not physically fit? Do we not know that if an enemy invades our country we would be the first targets? Do we want to be captured like chickens?”
What worries Mwandingi most is not just individual health, but the collective wellbeing of the veteran community.
For Mwandingi, retirement has not meant standing down. It has meant a different kind of duty: preserving the strength and dignity of the generation that won Namibia’s independence.
During the liberation struggle, multilingual Mwandingi served at PLAN’s Commanding Headquarters as an interpreter, facilitating communication between PLAN, Angolan and Cuban commanders.
After independence, he joined the NDF and rose to senior ranks before retiring.
“I appeal to you, former combatants of PLAN who are now in retirement, to take good care of yourselves. Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and also avoid unnecessary and limitless socialising.”
The message is not about isolation. It is about discipline — the same discipline that kept them alive in exile and in combat.
Many retirees, including war veterans, are spending their days moving from one gathering to another, neglecting their health in the process.
“Let us take good care of ourselves and one another,” Mwandingi urged.
He believes former fighters still have a role to play as custodians of Namibia’s sovereignty and as mentors to younger generations. But that role, he argues, starts with being present, healthy and strong.
For Col. Mwandingi — who currently serves as the Deputy Chairperson of the Former PLAN Combatants Association (FPCA) — the call is simple: the war for independence is over, but the duty to protect Namibia — starting with protecting yourself — continues.
