The Vice Chancellor of the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) has shared his experiences as a former soldier during the liberation struggle.

To ensure that his experiences are preserved, Professor Andrew Niikondo has written a book titled "Are You a Person or a Ghost?" that emphasises his journey and the bravery that contributed to Namibia's freedom.

Professor Niikondo, in his book, reflects on his early involvement in the liberation struggle and how he, as a young man, joined the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).

"You know, when we left Namibia at that time, of course I was in grade nine. So in 1980 is when I was deployed, but I joined a plan in 1979. But in 1980 is when I was deployed to the battlefield. But of course, I was also trained at the Juba training centre from the Tobias Hanyeko Centre, Juba training centre. I was trained on those. And then after that training, I was deployed to the battlefield. " 

He recounts a near-death encounter during an intense battle with South African soldiers. 

"The time that I was almost shot - yeah, that was correct because we had to go and pursue one enemy, and then by mistake, someone just talked so loudly that the enemy realised that there were guys, and then they fired at us. But of course I was not shot… So that's just one of the stories, but there are so many things that we went through, you know. Other things are like hunger, you know; we can, we could go for even seven days without food, only water. " 

He expressed happiness at witnessing the freedom and progress achieved today.

"And something that was denied to the Namibian people before independence. And that's what we call democracy. So I'm very happy. And that's not the independence that I want to see. And I'm very happy to see it up to now."