Fare-thee-well distinguished academic
…tribute to a pioneering black Namibian professor
William Shakespeare said, “Some are born great, some have achieved greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”. Rehabeam Katengela Auala, affectionately known as Ray was not only born great, but he has achieved greatness.
Born in Oniipa on 11 September 1947 by a peasant mother, Aina Sakeus-Auala ‘GwaSeke’ and reverend Leonard Nangolo Auala, who later became the first black bishop in Namibia, Ray rose through primary, secondary and tertiary education exposure, eventually attaining impeccable academic credentials.
I grew up admiring and envying Ray, particularly after returning from his studies in the US in 1986 – because prior to the return of exiled Namibians in 1989, he was among the only three PhD holders from the then Owambo.
The other two were clergymen, reverend Dr Abisai Sheyavali and reverend Dr Tomas Shivute, now bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN). I had high regard for their academic savvy and intellectual aptitude. I finally met Ray in person in Windhoek in 1991. We only exchanged greetings, but I was content with that, as I looked at him with a sense of reverence and wish-to-belike-him feeling. It was in 1995 while I was serving as secretary general of the University of Namibia’s (Unam) student representative council (SRC) and member of the Unam senate that we became close and grew to become friends over the years. True of a friend, he attended our wedding celebrations at my parents’ house.
Ray was an inoffensive man, who would not even kill a fly. But behold, he had no time for turpitudinous creatures, who naughtily hoodwinked our ancestors in the Garden of Eden. When his father was involved in a terrible car accident while on a hunting expedition in 1972, Ray walked for many kilometres the whole day and night in search of assistance.
After swimming across a floodplain, he encountered a python that was ready to swallow him. Your son of the soil emptied the shotgun magazine into the evil and sinful reptile, obediently fulfilling the scripture in Genesis 3:15 “…he will crush your head”.
Ray made history as the second black Namibian to become a full professor in 1996, second to Peter Hitjevi Katjavivi – the honourable speaker of parliament. Many others who were called ‘Prof’ before that were either assistant or associate professors.
The requirements to become a full professor vary per university. At Unam, one is required to have a cumulative 25 publications in the form of books, chapters in books, articles in peer-reviewed journals and seminar papers. Full professors are further required to deliver inaugural lectures. I attended Ray’s inaugural lecture in September 1997 at Unam – mind you I have held academic ambitions for many years, inspired by people like him. At that occasion, the then dean of the faculty of education, prof Barnabas Otaala, introduced Ray as follows:
Rehabeam Katengela Auala ate a humble pie as a primary school teacher in the rural village of Oniipa, northern Namibia. Today, prof Ray Auala is eating gravy as a professor and head of the department of [the] Education Foundation and Management at the University of Namibia.
At the lecture, Ray demonstrated high-skilled knowledge and pedagogical competence, eloquently dissecting the hypothesis, based on empirical philosophy, proving that he has earned the promotion. I followed his presentation meticulously, proud of the doctor from Miami University as he made sound epistemological and ontological contributions to the field of study: Education Foundations and Management.
Eish! Our homeboy was at the top of his game. In the end, I concurred that his accomplished exploration of academic discourses appropriately catapulted him to academic brilliance, eminence and excellence.
Ray was committed and dedicated to Unam. While many academics will habitually and disruptively shuttle between tertiary institutions in search for greener pastures, Ray stuck to one university, where he retired with full academic honours, becoming professor emeritus.
His background in academia largely shaped his life. Believe me, when one of his children brought a prospective spouse to be introduced to the parents, Ray was asking questions as it happens in the oral defences of academic theses and took minutes of the meeting.
My last moments with Ray were at the Swapo party congress in November 2022. Having previously briefed me about his medical diagnosis, he insisted to sit next to me, as I was the only comrade who understood his health condition. We sat together for three consecutive days. That was the last time I saw him as he left this world on 13 January 2023. Go well, son of the soil!