In 1920, Hosea Kutako was officially appointed paramount chief of the
Herero people by Frederik Maharero. Mahahero had been empowered to transfer power by his father, Herero chief
Samuel Maharero, who had been exiled after the
Herero War and was since banned from entering the country by the South African Mandatory Administration. Hosea Kutako took over his role as a commitment to preserve the memory of the Herero before and during the German colonisation as well as of the
Battle of Waterberg. The
aftermath of this battle was recognised in 2004 by
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany's development aid minister, as being equivalent to
genocide. Also in 1920, he founded the Green Flags, an association to keep up tradition, and went on by founding the Red Flags in 1923, after
Samuel Maharero's death. Kutako prompted and organised the transfer of Samuel Maharero's body and its funeral on Okahandja next to the grave of
Jonker Afrikaner. Kutako also founded the
Truppenspieler association. It was intended to attain military importance, but this was opposed by the South African authorities. On 1 June 1925, Hosea Kutako was elected as the senior leader of all Ovaherero and Chief of the Council of Headmen. He retained this position until his death in 1970. In 1936, conflicts arose between one of the Ovaherero military organisations, the
Otjiserandu, and the Advisory Board of the Black township in
Windhoek. Kutako was asked by the South West Africa Administration to intervene but had no success. In August 1939, new conflicts arose between the
Otjiserandu and Ovaherero leaders. Kutako requested the South West Africa Administration to order
Otjiserandu members in
Aminuis to leave the reserve. When they refused to comply, police evicted them by force.
Otjiserandu members were even seen displaying the German Nazi flag. This led to the banning of the wearing of uniforms and marching at the Okahandja ceremony. In 1945, Kutako co-founded the
Herero Chiefs' Council with the cooperation of chief Frederick Maharero in exile in Botswana, and in 1946, he sent his first petition to the
United Nations opposing South Africa's annexation of Namibia. Kutako became deputy chief of Namibia's Traditional Leaders Council, and also became chief of the
Mbanderu people in Botswana in 1951. Along with the British Anglican priest
Michael Scott, he submitted numerous petitions to the
United Nations during the 1950s and 1960s calling on the world body to end South African rule and grant Namibia independence. This eventually led to the UN's recognition of Namibia as a sovereign country under colonial administration by South Africa and the historic 1971 advisory opinion of the
International Court of Justice that South Africa's continued administration of Namibia was illegal in terms of international law. Hosea Kutako is considered a national hero in Namibia. On 27 September 1959, Kutako co-founded the
South West African National Union (SWANU), the first nationalist political party in Namibia. Though aligned with the Herero Chiefs' Council, SWANU became increasingly divided along ethnic and ideological lines, with the
Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO), under the leadership of
Sam Nujoma, later breaking away and being reconstituted as the
South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) in 1960. Kutako played a key role in guiding young nationalist leaders, including Nujoma, and helped organize early exile movements to train freedom fighters. Despite his old age, he continued advocating for unity among Namibia's independence movements. Kutako opposed the
Odendaal Plan of 1964, which sought to divide Namibia into ethnic "homelands" under South African rule. In 1964, he co-founded the
National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO), advocating for federalism, but it failed to gain traction compared to SWAPO and SWANU. In 1970, as he neared 100 years old, disputes arose over his successor. The Herero Chiefs' Council appointed
Clemens Kapuuo as the automatic successor to Hosea Kutako, as they feared that the South African authorities would try to take advantage of the death of Kutako to impose their own nominee as chief. == Death and recognition ==