In Memoriam, Jane Katjavivi 1952 – 2022
An English rose who found in the liberation struggle of Namibia a cause for her idealism and energy, Jane Katjavivi met and married historian and activist Peter Katjavivi in the UK while working as Information Officer for the SWAPO London office. They moved to Namibia just before National Independence, Professor Peter Katjavivi becoming the founding Vice Chancellor of the new University of Namibia in 1992, and Jane starting a publishing house, New Namibia Books to produce textbooks for the new academic curricula and reading materials for Namibians.
Under Katjavivi’s successor, Professor Lazarus Hangula, a dedicated university press was established to co-ordinate research and publication to make it more visible, and to raise the image and profile of the University. Jane was appointed in June 2011 as Publisher with an Administrative Officer, Fredrika Motinga. With ready access to connections in the publishing world for advice, she set up a world-class university press which brought out three books the following year, two of which remain best-sellers today, Labour Law in Namibia by Dr Collins Parker which makes the Labour Act accessible to all, and Making a Difference, Dr Libertine Amathila’s uplifting autobiography.
In 2014, Jane succeeded in motivating for and filling two further posts, Editor and Production Manager, to assist with the processing of manuscripts and to develop the Press.
Highlights of Jane’s career at UNAM Press were the publication of The Law of Pre-Trial Criminal Procedure in Namibia by five outstanding UNAM law students who recognized a need for a textbook in this area and wrote it themselves. Clever Mapaure, Ndjodi Ndeunyema, Pilisano Masake, Festus Weyulu & Loide Shaparara all have accomplished careers in law, Dr Ndjodi Ndeunjema graduating at Oxford University in the UK with a DPhil.
Two notable publications in 2015 that show-cased UNAM research were collected volumes in the human and natural sciences: Re-viewing Resistance in Namibian History, edited by Jeremy Silvester, was the result of historical research by 19 UNAM and Namibian researchers, and Indigenous Knowledge of Namibia, edited by Kazhila C. Chinsembu and colleagues, presented the work of 31 UNAM researchers, primarily from the Multi-disciplinary Research Centre.
Jane brokered the first co-publication agreement between UNAM Press and an international publishing house, Sean Kingston. The Politics of Distinction – African elites from colonialism to liberation by anthropologist Mattia Fumanti deals with career aspirations of youth in Rundu.
By the end of 2016, the Press had published 14 books. Jane’s swansong was the launch of Ambassador Tshiwa Trudie Amulungu’s autobiography Taming my Elephant, at which the President of Namibia, Hage Geingob spoke. It was a fitting close to Jane’s career in publishing at UNAM, one which began with activism for the cause and was fulfilled by Namibian Independence, and the opportunities of promoting scholarly publishing and assisting many writers to publish their work.
She handed over the baton to her staff with full confidence that the Press would continue to develop and enhance the reputation of the University. We have not let her down. The Press currently has a list of 36 titles, seven of which are co-publications with other international university presses such as Cornell University Press. With the same number of staff, we have modernized and are moving into digital publishing with the University’s business arm, Inceptus, working on an online sales platform for UNAM Press books. Although Jane retired in 2016 to spend more time with her family, she kept her hand in by copy-editing some manuscripts for UNAM Press and our last communication with her was from the UK where she was on holiday. Only a committed editor would understand that last email to us: it was all about correct abbreviations, indented quotes, Otjiherero orthography, references and spelling. It breathed enthusiasm and hope for publications to come.
Dr Jill Kinahan
UNAM Press Publisher
