THE STORY OF JACOB MORENGA: THE NAMIBIAN FIGHTER WHO FRUSTRATED THE GERMANS SCHUTZTRUPPE DURING THE GERMAN-HERERO/NAMA UPRISING: 1904 TO 1907

Compiled by Wolfgang Witschas

Abstract

Jacob Morenga  known as the “Black Napoleon”, (1875 – 20 September 1907) was an important figure in Namibia, then the German colony of Deutsch Sûdwest Afrika (DSWA) German South West Africa (GSWA). He was chief leader in the insurrection against the German Empire which took place between 1904 and 1908 and was best known for forging an alliance between the rival Herero and Nama tribes.

After more than 50 battles and skirmishes with the German Schutztruppe between 1904 to 1907. By September 1907, German and Cape Colony forces were cooperating to locate Morenga. The unified German-British efforts were eventually successful. On 20 September 1907, a South African Cape Mounted Police (CMP) patrol under the command of Major Elliot, located Morenga and he was eventually shot and killed

Keywords

• Jacob Morenga
• Black Napoleon
• Herero
• Nama
• Witboois
• Bondelswarts
• Guerrilla Warfare
• Deutsch Südwestafrika (DSWA)
• German South West Africa (GSWA).
• Schutztruppe
• Willem Christian
• Hendrik Witbooi
• ǁKhauxaǃnas / “Kauchanas”/”Dutch name Schans Vlakte: fortified valley ” (near the town of Karasburg) in southern Namibia
• Cape Mounted Police (CMP)
• Cape Mounted Rifles (CMR)
• Captain “Hauptmann”  Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
• Captain “Hauptmann” von Hagen
• Major FHA Elliot CMP

Introduction

Jacob Morenga, also Jakob, Jacobus, Marengo and Marenga, given the name of the “Black Napoleon” by the German military in the then Deutsch Südwestafrika (DSWA/German South West Africa (GSWA). Morenga was born to a Herero mother and Nama father.

Names: Jacob Morenga/Marengo/Marenga
Jakob or Jacobus
Born :     1875, probably at Vaalgras (Koichas)
some 60 kilometres east of Tses,
near the town of Köes
Children: Petrus Marengo, Samuel Marengo:
also killed in the battle of
Eenzamheed, Charly Marengo: born
1901 and died 28.08.1989 in
Kakamas in South Africa, buried at
Vaalgras/Koichas.
Died:       17 September 1907
Age:        32 years

In Otjiherero, “Marenga” means “kings.”

The Germans referred to Morenga also as “Räuber Haupmann: Robber Captain”

Background and Early Life

Jakob Marengo was born around 1875, probably at Vaalgras (Koichas) some 60 kilometres east of Tses. Today a Nama speaking Ovaherero Community still lives at Koichas, in the vicinity of Vaalgras. Bishop John Marie Simon, then the priest at the Pella Roman Catholic Mission station, just south of the Orange River in the South African Cape Colony, recorded that Marengo had a Ovaherero father and a !Gami-#nun mother, although the names of his parents have not been ascertained.

Morenga was probably brought up by a man known as Carolus Damara, who later lived in Simon’s parish at Pella, after he and his family had been converted to Catholicism.

The name “Marengo” appears in a variety of spellings in the documentary record, and is probably derived from the Mbanderu name Marenga:

Marengo, Jakob
[Marengo, Jacob – alternative spelling]
[Marenga, Jakob – alternative spelling]
[Marengo, Jacob – alternative spelling]
[Marinka, Jakob – alternative spelling]
[Morenga, Jakob – alternative spelling]

Many of his early biographical details are only based on oral evidence, such as the information that he has worked as a labourer/clerk at the O’okiep (Okiep) copper mines in the Cape Colony in South Africa, and that he allegedly visited Germany in the company of a missionary. He was the famous warrior leader of the !Gami-#nun (Bondelswarts) in the anti-colonial resistance war against the Germans from 1903-1907, whose strategic brilliance and bravery was much commented upon by his enemies.

He was an important figure in the then German colony of DSWA)/GSWA.  He was chief leader in the insurrection against the German Empire which took place between 1904 and 1908 and was best known for forging an alliance between the rival Herero and Nama tribes. Morenga is said to have been fluent in German, English and Afrikaans, which he learned from missionaries. Over the years there have been many stories about Morenga’s character. Nama-speaking people often refer to his love for humanity and was also the first leader to allow women to speak at council meetings.

Morenga the Resistance Fighter

After his return to DSWA/GSWA during 1903 Morenga first became politically active through his association with Willem Christian, a leader of the Bondelswarts Nama people. The Bondelswarts are a subgroup of the Nama people, and they traditionally inhabit the most southern regions of Namibia. Specifically, they are found in the area around Warmbad, which is located near the border with South Africa.

Before the Herero and Nama War of 1904–1907, Morenga had participated in smaller, more localized insurrections of the Bondelswarts, which took place in the Warmbad area. This uprising was as a result of the following incident: Morenga first became politically active through his association with Willem Christian, a leader of the Bondelswarts people. After Christian’s son and successor, Jan Abraham Christian, was killed by a young German Schutztruppe officer, the Bondelswarts had enough of the hard-handed treatment of the Germans and launched a brief uprising in October 1903 under Hendrik Witbooi’s leadership. Morenga served as one of the primary commanders of this uprising, which established his early reputation as a skilled tactician.

The uprising was short-lived and was brutally suppressed by the Germans. After the peace of Kalkfontein between the Germans and the Bondelswarts, Jakob Morenga was declared “persona non grata” by the Germans and 1 000 German Mark was placed on his head. He fled to the Karas mountains and later crossed the border to the Northern Cape, in South Africa.

Beginning of 1904 he returned to DSWA/GSWA and obtained weapons and food from attacking white settlers in the south of DSWS/GSWA and plundering their possessions. Morenga’s group initially consisted of 11 members. On 30 Augustus 1904, Morenga was involved in a skirmish with the German Schutztruppe, that took place near ǁKhauxaǃnas “Khauxanas” or Kouchanas with a German force of 30 men. The commanding officer Lieutenant von Steeple, and two soldiers were killed, and the Germans were forced to retreat. In the following skirmishes Morenga and his force were again victorious.

Nama and Herero men continuously joined Morenga’s force and by September 1904 the group had 150 men under his command all with modern German bolt-action Mauser rifles:

• Mauser Gewehr 1888 Also known as the Gewehr 88 Commission Rifle
• Mauser Gewehr 98

This “constellation” of Nama and Herero men was very unusual because both the Namas and Hereros traditionally fought against each other than together before German colonisation of the territory that became DSWA/GSWA. Morenga’s political aim was to change from German to British colonial regime with the hope that the British may grant autonomy to the Nama and Herero.

Although the 1903 Nama uprising, led by Hendrik Witbooi and Jacob Morenga, began in 1903 but officially the Herero/Nama war was only declared during January 1904.  The conflict started as a rebellion against German colonial rule and eventually merged with the broader Herero and Nama war when the Herero join the rebellion in January, and the conflict escalates into a full-blown war.

The Herero and Nama War: 1904 to 1907

However, the bulk of Morenga’s historical reputation stems from his leadership of anti-German guerrilla forces during the Herero and Nama War of 1904–1907. It often proved difficult for Morenga to maintain proper control of his armies, as their preferred methods of attack differed fundamentally. The Herero sought direct and open combat with German forces, while the Nama preferred more guerrilla-like tactics. The group under Morenga planned their attacks from the hidden fortress of ǁKhauxaǃnas /”Kauchanas”/”Dutch name Schans Vlakte: fortified valley ” (near the town of Karasburg) in southern Namibia.

His tactics were based around the incredible horsemanship of his men and an understanding of the landscape that came from a lifetime’s experience. He lived almost entirely off his enemies’ supplies, launching repeated raids on German farms and outposts. When German patrols pursued him, Morenga would lure them ever deeper into the mountains, until, exhausted, lost and running out of water, they were forced to abandon the pursuit.”

Towards the end of 1904 Warmbad was attacked by Jakob Morengs and his second-in-command, Abraham Morris. At the beginning of March 1905 Captain Kirchner was defeated by Jakob Marengo in the battle of Aub. On the 11/03/1905 the battle of Narudas (“Robber Henrick’s Place”) was fought against three German sections under Major von Kamptz and Captain Friedrich von Eckert (in presence of the commander of the southern front, Colonel Berthold von Deimling) (coming from the west), Captain von Koppy (coming from the south) and Major von Lengerke (sealing off the east). Marengo and Abraham Morris were defeated and escaped in the direction of Khauxa!nas. Morenga was wounded during the battle. After the battle of Narudas a three-kilometre German column of wagons with captured material headed for Keetmanshoop. In spite of Morenga’s injury, a battle was fought between him and the Germans at Uchanaris, 60 km south east of Keetmanshoop. The Germans suffered more casualties than they had at Narudas. The Nama managed to recover some of their material losses suffered at Narudas.

The Germans suffered losses. Some days later the united forces under Jakob Morenga and Cornelius Frederiks of the !Aman (Bethany Nama) attacked the Germans under Von Kamptz at Ganams, with heavy losses for the latter. In May 1905 various battles and skirmishes were fought around Khauxa!nas between the Germans and Morenga. On the 19.05.1905 Jakob Marengo suffered losses in the skirmish of Leukop near the British border against the Germans under the command of Captain Siebert. Some Nama soldiers escaped into British territory, returned, however, in the next couple of days. In June 1905 a battle was fought at Narus at the upper reaches of the Kareb River south of 5Khauxa!nas between the Germans and Jakob Morenga with Jan Hendrik of the Hawoben as his ally, with heavy casualties for the Germans. Renewed peace negotiations between the Germans and Jakob Marengo and Cornelius Frederiks in Khauxa!nas failed because the Germans attacked the Nama during the armistice. Lieutenant Thilo von Trotha was killed during the skirmishes. On 03/07/1905 Jakob Marengo attacked the Germans at Wasserfall. In September 1905 the battle of Nochas was fought between Jakob Morenga and Johannes Christian of the !Gami-#nun and the Germans under Von Erckert. After the battle Morenga and Christian moved southwards. On their way to the Orange River, they intercepted a German supply convoy at Naruchas, south-west of Kalkfontein- Süd (present-day Karasburg). On 23.09.1905 Morenga continued his attacks on the Germans at Oas. Five days later he and Johannes Christian attacked Heirachabis. Early in October 1905 Morenga and Christian attacked and destroyed a small German reconnaissance post at Jerusalem, south of Heirachabis. They then moved south to the Orange River where they attacked the military border post of Schuitdrift (Naob) (Groendorn) (10.10.). On 24/25.10.1905 the battle of Hartebeestmund near Pelladrift on the Orange River was fought between Jakob Morenga with Johannes Christian and the Germans, with heavy losses for the Germans (three officers were killed, three were wounded and 14 soldiers were killed, 35 wounded).

After Captain Hendrik Witbooi was killed in action on 29.10.1905 at Vaalgras/Koichas, Marengo continued the war. On 05.01.1906 the battle of Duurdrift South was fought between Jakob Marengo and the Germans under Captain von Lettow-Vorbeck. At the beginning of March 1906, the battle of Wasserfall at the Orange River was fought by Johannes Christian, Jakob Marengo and Abraham Morris against the Germans under Beyer. On 11.03.1906 Morenga was involved in a skirmish at Pelladrift. One day later he was defeated by the Germans under Von Erckert and Von Hornhardt in the battle of Kumkum. Morenga escaped in the direction of the Great Karas Mountains. On 21.03.1906 Marengo and Christian again attacked the German military post at Jerusalem. After the encounter the two leaders decided to split forces. Christian turned westwards, while Morenga moved north. Five days later Morenga attacked a German supply convoy near Ukamas.

At the beginning of April 1906, Morenga and Johannes Christian had various skirmishes with the Germans under Heuck, with heavy losses for the Germans. On 05/04/1906 Marengo was engaged in a skirmish with the Germans (Lieutenant von Mielczewski) on the road between Nababis and Ukamas. Three days later the battle of Fettkluft was fought by Jakob Marengo with Abraham Morris and again with Johannes Christian against the Germans under Heuck, with heavy losses for the Germans.

On 10/04/1906 Jakob Morenga continued his attacks on the Germans at Oas. Four days later a skirmish took place at Narudas (“Robber Henrick’s Place”) between the Germans and Marengo.
After more than 50 battles against the Germans his reign of terror was nearly over. On 18/04/1906 he was encountered in a skirmish at Klipdam at the border between SWA and the Cape Colony. After this, he was, in the face of superior German forces, forced to escape to the British Cape Colony. In the battle Morenga was injured in an ambush and twenty-three of his men were killed.

On 04/05/1906 Morenga surrendered to the Cape Mounted Police (CMP) after being defeated by Captain Bech’s troops in the battle of Van Rooysvley in the Cape Colony, with a loss of 23 of his soldiers. He was transferred by the British to the railhead at Prieska and from there by train to Cape Town, to the Tokai prison. In June 1907 the British in the Cape Colony released Jakob Morenga from Tokai prison in Cape Town. The Germans called upon Britain to extradite Morenga, but Morenga submitted a request for political asylum that prevented the extradition from occurring.

The End of Jakob Morenga

Morenga was instructed to report to the Civil Commissioner at Upington where he was ordered not to cross the border into German South West Africa.

Despite this order Morenga crossed into DSWA/GSWA at Gamsib Ravine (probably during July or August 1907). He shortly began traveling northward, amassing followers and material. He soon began the task of assembling an army of mainly Nama and some Hereo people, to once again attack German troops. He gathered the now-dispersed tribes of the Herero, Nama, and Witboois, leading them into battle once more against the German colonial empire.

By August, it had become clear that Morenga had no intention of adhering to the conditions of his release. The CMP issued an arrest warrant against Morenga on 09 August 1907.

On 26/08/1907 Schutztruppe Captain von den Hagen co-ordinated the German troops with the British ones in Cape Town. It was decided to mount a common action against Morenga on 01/091907 in order to prevent Jakob Marengo from uniting his forces with those of Simon Koper of the !Khara-khoen.

By September 1907, German and Cape Colony forces were cooperating to locate Morenga. The unified German-British efforts were eventually successful. On 20 September 1907, a combined Cape Mounted Police (CMP) and Cape Mounted Rifles (CMR) patrol under the command of Major FHA Elliot, located Morenga and he was eventually shot and killed in a battle between his forces and the combined German and South African forces at Eenzaamheid in the Kalahari Desert. His sons, Petrus Morenga, Samuel Morenga, his nephews, Michael Morenga, Hendrich Morenga and Johannes Morenga and his secretary Saul Damara were killed together with him. Petrus Morenga escaped. Charly Marengo, born 1901 and died 28/08/1989 in Kakamas in South Africa, buried at Vaalgras/Koichas.

An ex-combatant at the battle of Narudas (“Robber Henrick’s Place”) in March 1905 paid later tribute to Jakob Morenga: “In those old days, forty years ago, South West Africa was still a wild country. … Perhaps that is the reason why Jakob Marengo has received no recognition from any one for his outstanding intelligence and bravery, but I am sure that there are many old people still alive who like me would bow their heads in respect at the grave of Jakob Morenga”.
Centre row middle: German Captain “Hauptmann” von Hagen, CMP Major FAH Elliot CMP, German Lieutenant von Gauenfeld
Photo: Hennie Heymans Nongqai: July 1946

Centre row middle: German Captain “Hauptmann” von Hagen, Major FAH Elliot CMP, German Lieutenant Zanenfeldt
Photo: Hennie Heymans Nongqai: July 1946

List of Cape Mounted Police (CMP) and Cape Mounted Rifle member that participated in the action against Jakob Morenga

Photo: Hennie Heymans Archive or Nongqai Archive

Photo: Hennie Heymans Archive or Nongqai Archive

The following were awarded the South West Africa Commemorative Medal without any bar:

Cape Mounted Police (CMP):

Number            Name                       Rank           Unit
–       Spencer C.E.W     Capt.     RMP
–         Harvey A.              Insp.       RMP
231        Simon W.L.            Cpl.        RMP
1193         Austin W.              Pte         RMP
1973        De Klerk H.A.         Pte.       RMP
915        Elliot C.A.C.            Pte        RMP
1545        Green M.J.             Pte.       RMP
1919        Hubach W.            Pte. RMP
686        NicholI J.                Pte.       RMP
1684        Osmond J.D.       Pte         RMP
2063        Pilkington R.         Pte        RMP
983        Quincey C.F.          Pte        RMP

Cape Mounted Rifles (CMR):

Number          Name                      Rank             Unit
4347        Dalling G.              Pte.        CMR
3569        Lathrope E.J.       Pte.        CMR

Imperial German South West Africa Commemoratives Medal

Photo: Hennie Heymans Archive / Nongqai Archive

ǁKhauxaǃnas/Kouchanas: Schans Vlakte:
Fortified valley ” (near the town of Karasburg)

ǁKhauxaǃnas/Kouchanas served as a hidden retreat and a fortress for the Orlam Afrikaner tribe, to fend off possible pursuits by Cape authorities. ǁKhauxaǃnas/Kouchanas was also the hiding place of Jakob Morenga and his group of fighters.

ǁKhauxaǃnas/Kouchanas (Khoekhoegowab: passively defend people from an enemy, Afrikaans / Dutch name Schans Vlakte: fortified valley) is an uninhabited village with a ruined fortress in south-eastern Namibia, east of the Great Karas Mountains. It is the oldest systematically designed and built structure in Namibia, pre-dating all buildings erected by Europeans. Built at the end of the 18th century, most likely between 1796 and 1798 by Klaas Afrikaner and his two sons Jager and Titus, ǁKhauxaǃnas served as a hidden retreat and a fortress to fend off possible pursuits by Cape authorities. The Orlam Afrikaner tribe left the place in the 1820s but it continued to be inhabited by the Veldschoendragers (ǁHawoben) tribe until the mid-19th century.

The Legacy of Jakob Morenga’s Guerrilla Warfare: Tactics/Strategy

German Captain Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, stationed in German South-West Africa (DSWA) in 1904.

Photo: https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_von_Lettow-Vorbeck
Schutztruppe Captain Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck played a major role in the German pursuit of Jacob Morenga. During a 1906 gunfight against Morenga and his men, Captain von Lettow-Vorbeck suffered injuries to his left eye, which was left blind, and his chest. He was sent to Cape Town were he recuperated from his injuries.

The diverse and widely successful methods of attack used by Morenga’s forces were enough to force a special election in the German Reichstag (Parliament), due to the relatively heavy losses suffered by German troops. Morenga’s leadership and tactical skills also led him to be praised even by opposing German commanders.

Background of Captain Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck and his Interest in Guerrilla warfare

Captain Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, was stationed in German South-West Africa (DSWA) in 1904 when the Herero and Nama uprising started in the beginning of 1904.

He saw combat against the Herero at the Battle of Waterberg, which he later called, “something rarely encountered in guerrilla warfare, a chance to defeat them in a single operation.”

He compared their guerrilla warfare with that of the Boers during the second stage of the Anglo Boer War (ABO) 1899 to 1902. (Here the seed of guerrilla warfare against a more powerful enemy were sown with him). When the Nama people also rose against German rule under the leadership of Hendrik Witbooi, Lettow-Vorbeck remained in German South West Africa to continue fighting. He played a major role in the pursuit of Jacob Morenga. During a 1906 gunfight against Morenga and his men, Lettow-Vorbeck suffered injuries to his left eye, which was left blind, and his chest. He was then evacuated to Cape Town, South Africa, for treatment and recovery.

The East Africa Campaign during World War l 1914 to 1918 and Guerrilla Warfare

The diverse and widely successful methods of attack used by Morenga’s forces were enough to force a special election in the German Reichstag, due to the relatively heavy losses suffered by German troops. Morenga’s leadership and tactical skills also led him to be praised even by opposing German commanders.

Leonard Mosley, British author, journalist, and historian, best known for his biographies and historical works, including books on notable figures and events, would later write, however, “It was from these brilliant and fantastic Hottentots that Lettow-Vorbeck learned the Bush craft that was to prove of such value to him in his war against the British in East Africa (1914 to 1918). When Hottentot guerrilla leader, Samuel Isaak was captured and brought in for questioning, it was von Lettow who conducted the interrogations… His questions were how to live off a country which offers no apparent sustenance, how to run in conditions when most men barely have the strength to walk, how to condition the body to go without food or water, and most important of all, how to become so much a part, so absorbed into an unfriendly wilderness that survival is possible as the snakes and land crabs and lizards survive.”

Epilogue

Jacob Morenga was the leader of more than 50 battles of resistance against the German Schutztruppe and settlers between 1904 -1907. He was best known for his ability to unite Nama and Herero rivals into his guerrilla army. His army, at various points, included Witboois Namas, and some Xhosas and Namas from both sides of the Orange River.  Born of a Herero mother and a Nama father, Morenga had a vision of broad African nationalism beyond ethnic loyalties. This is why so many revolutionaries liked his vision for the future of Africa.  Nama-speaking people often refer to his love for humanity, and that he was the first leader to allow women to speak at council meetings. He employed guerrilla tactics and gained a reputation within the German army as a strategic genius and a noble fighter, earning him his nickname, “the Black Napoleon.”

Recognition

Jakob Morenga is one of nine national heroes of Namibia that were identified at the inauguration of the country’s Heroes’ Acre near Windhoek. Founding president Sam Nujoma remarked in his inauguration speech on 26 August 2002 that:

Photo added by BobB
Google:/https://www.findagrave.com/memorisl/150256573/jacob-morenga

Morenga is honoured in form of a granite tombstone with his name engraved and his portrait plastered onto the slab. A statue of Morenga is situated at the cemetery of Warmbad in the far South of Namibia.

Warmbad Cemetary

BySonari Dappa

Photo: The Namibian 01July 2014
Google:/https://www.naminian.com.na/the-legacy,-of-jacob-mornga

References:

Google:/https://www.naminian.com.na/the-legacy,-of-jacob-mornga

Google:/https://www.findagrave.com/memorisl/150256573/jacob-morenga

Google:/https://en.m.wikepedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Morenga

Google:/https://www.naminian.com.na/125113/archive-read/The-Legacy-of-Jacob-Morenga

Goodgle:/https://dpedia.org/page/JacobMorenga

Google:/https://www.britanica.com/topic/German-Herero-conflict-of-1904-1907

Photos: CMP & CMR: Hennie Heymans