Nkurenkuru Accommodation

Nkurenkuru

Once the Capital of the Kavango region in Namibia, Nkurenkuru is a small town which lies on the south-western banks of the Kavango River. The town which is home to the Uukwangali Kings has a population of over 7500 inhabitants and is situated 140 kilometers west of the new capital, Rundu. Although Rundu is classified as the new capital, the seat of the regional government was moved from Nkurenkuru in 1936. Just across the river from Nkurenkuru is the Angolan town of Cuangar and the two towns are linked by a nearby border post.

The Kavango region was divided into 5 different kingdoms and the westernmost kingdom, Kuring Kuru or the old place was ruled by the Kwangali people. This history plays an important part in the history of Nkurenkuru. Somewhere around the middle of the 18th century a Uukwangali queen moved her people, from the Kwando River near Mashi, over 500 kilometers to an area which was about 20 kilometers northwest of Nkurenkuru. Her successor then moved the Kwangali people from Mazuku to Sihangu near Mukukuta and then further to Karai which lies close to the town known today as Cuangar. It was only later in 1820, under the rule of hompa Siremo, that the town of Nkurenkuru was founded, becoming home to the Uukwangali kings under Queen Mpande in 1880. Six years later on the 30 December 1886, an agreement was signed that saw the Okavango River defining the borders between Portuguese Angola and German South-West Africa. In a strange twist the tribes of the Kavango people, who had settled on both sides of the river, were only informed of this new territorial setting after its implementation.

At the beginning of 1929, the Finnish Missionary Society began its work in Kavango by building a mission station near the local government station in Nkurenkuru. The location was chosen by the local mission chief of Ovamboland, Isak Alho, and Eetu Jarvinen, who had visited the area the previous year. Eetu Jarvinen went on to be the stations first missionary when he was sent to build the main building of the mission station on 1 January 1929. Over 60 years later the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) founded a secndary school and a high school in Nkurenkuru. This was done with the assistance of the Finnish Missionary Society who also supplied teachers over the years, teaching subjects like natural sciences.

>From 1975 to 2002 the town of Nkurenkuru was also a base of the South African Defence Force during the Angolan Civil War. Namibia however gained its independence in 1990 which saw some investment going into Nkurenkuru. Nkurenkuru was officially declared a town and second urban centre of the Kavango Region in 2006. Some of the major projects undertaken since independence include the tarring of the river road to Rundu and an irrigation project which has led to more efficient agricultural use of the surrounding farmlands. There has also been some private investment which included the opening of additional shops and banks (e.g. Bank Windhoek) and the opening of lodges and guest houses along the river.

The Nepara Airfield, which was a former base of the South African Air Force, can be found around 20 kilometers southwest of Nkurenkuru. Today the Airfield is used as a commercial airport for Nkurenkuru. The Katwitwi border post lies about 35 kilometers to the northwest of Nkurenkuru and acts as the gateway to Menongue in Angola.