The Heroes' Acre monument is situated south of Windhoek on the B1 national road to Rehoboth. It is built as a symmetric polygon with a marble obelisk and a bronze statue of the Unknown Soldier at its centre. The site contains parade grounds and a grandstand for 5000 people. The burial site consists of 174 tombs, not all of which are currently^[update] occupied.^[3]

At inauguration nine national heroes and heroines were identified. For each of them a tombstone with name and picture has been erected, although they are not buried here. The nine national heroes are:^[4]

1. Kahimemua Nguvauva (1850–1896), Chief of the Ovambanderu, was wounded May 1896 in the Battle of Sturmfeld and after his surrender executed by the Germans^[5]
2. Nehale Lya Mpingana (died 1908), King of Ondonga, defeated the settlers of the Dorsland Trek in 1886, and German colonial forces at Fort Namutoni in 1904^[4]
3. Samuel Maharero (1856–1923), Paramount Chief of the Herero people, led the uprisings against German colonialism that resulted in the Herero and Namaqua War of 1904–1907^[4]
4. Hendrik Witbooi (1830–1905), chief of the ǀKhowesin and fighter against the colonial oppression of the German Empire in German South West Africa^[6]
5. Jacob Morenga (1875–1907), used the fortress of ǁKhauxaǃnas to wage a guerrilla war against the Schutztruppe of Imperial Germany^[7]
6. Mandume Ya Ndemufayo (1894–1917), last king of the Kwanyama, led his people into battles with South African colonial forces^[8]
7. Iipumbu Ya Tshilongo (1875–1959), King of the Uukwambi and strong nationalist, resisted European cultural influence exercised via the establishment of mission stations and administrative outposts^[4]
8. Anna Mungunda (1910s–1959), protester against the forced eviction from Windhoek's Old Location in 1959. Set the car of a high-ranking administrator alight and was shot dead in response.^[9]
9. Hosea Kutako (1870–1970), Paramount Chief of the Herero and petitioner to the United Nations for an independent Namibia^[10]

Others edit

In later years, several additional people have been declared national heroes, and buried here. These are:

• Dimo Hamaambo (1932–2002), served as the second commander of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia^[11]
• Maxton Joseph Mutongulume (1932–2004), founding member of the Ovamboland People's Congress and long-term SWAPO functionary and Central Committee member^[12]
• Markus Kooper (1918–2005), petitioner to the United Nations^[13]
• Mose Penaani Tjitendero (1943–2006), first speaker of National Assembly^[14]
• Richard Kapelwa Kabajani (1943–2007), former cabinet minister and ambassador to Cuba^[15]
• John Pandeni (1950–2008), prisoner of Robben Island and later Namibian Minister^[16]
• Peter Tsheehama (1941–2010), People's Liberation Army of Namibia commander and Chief of Namibian Intelligence^[17]
• John ya Otto Nankudhu (1933–2011), People's Liberation Army of Namibia commander and Robben Island inmate^[18]
• Frederick Matongo (1946 or 1947–2013) Lieutenant Colonel of the Namibian Defence Force, early participant of the Namibian War of Independence against apartheid South Africa^[19]
• Andrew Intamba (1947–2014), first director of the Namibia Central Intelligence Service, and Namibian ambassador to Egypt^[20]
• Mzee Kaukungwa (1919–2014), veteran of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia and founding member of SWAPO.
• Gerson Veii (1939–2015), founding member of the South West Africa National Union (SWANU). Veii is the first opposition party member to be accorded a hero's burial^[21]
• Hidipo Hamutenya (1939–2016), former cabinet minister, long-time leading member of SWAPO, founder of RDP.
• Andimba Toivo ya Toivo (1924–2017), anti-apartheid activist, politician and political prisoner. Founding member of SWAPO.
• Theo-Ben Gurirab (1938–2018), former Prime Minister, former Speaker of the National Assembly, veteran diplomat of SWAPO.

There are further National Heroes of Namibia without any connection to Heroe's Acre, namely:^[22]

• Niko Bessinger
• David Moses Meroro
• John Mutwa^[23]

Seven veterans of the Namibian liberation struggle were reburied on Heroes' Acre in 2014:^[24][25]

• Peter Nanyemba
• Walde Homateni Timoteus Kaluenya
• Isak "Pondo" Shikongo
• Natalia Ndahambelela Shikangala Mavulu
• Augustus "McNamara" Nghaamwa
• Putuse Appolus
• Lineekela Kalenga

On 26 August 2015, Namibia's Heroes' Day, three more veterans were reburied on Heroes' Acre:^[26]

• Moses ǁGaroëb
• Peter Mweshihange
• Anton Lubowski

Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from North Korea was given a N$60 million contract from Namibia to build the 732-acre (2.96 km²) monument. The contract was awarded without any competitive tendering process, and eventually the construction cost doubled.^[3] The non-transparent contracting of foreign manual labour has been criticised by corruption watchdog insight Namibia.^[27]

The memorial has been described as "monstrous" and its erection was speculated to "reveal a lack of African self-confidence". The statue of the Unknown Soldier resembles the physical features of Sam Nujoma,^[3] Namibia's founding president and ultimately the initiator of its erection.^[1]

In May 2005, a report in The Namibian noted that Heroes Acre was "already showing signs of decay". In particular, a bronze statue of a soldier had suffered damage, as had the plinth on which it stood. Some of the gold-coloured letters forming an inscription on the plinth were broken or missing, and the letters were "made of a cement-like substance, which had been painted gold and then glued to the plinth".^[28]

• National Heroes Acre (Zimbabwe)

22°39′50″S 17°04′42″E / 22.6638°S 17.0783°E / -22.6638; 17.0783