{{Short description|Namibian politician (1941–2022)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} '''Katuutire Kaura''' (3 February 1941 – 22 January 2022) was a [[Namibia]]n politician. He was president of the [[Democratic Turnhalle Alliance]] (DTA) from 1998 to 2013 and was the official leader of the [[Opposition (parliamentary)|opposition]] from 2000 to 2005.<ref name=CV>[https://www.parliament.na/dt_team/kaura-katuutire/ Profile at Namibian Parliament website].</ref>

==Life and career== Kaura was born in [[Ombujondjupa]] in [[South West Africa]], then administered by the [[Union of South Africa]] (today the [[Otjozondjupa Region]] of Namibia). He went into exile in the [[United States]] during the 1970s and taught at Nyack High School in [[Upper Nyack, New York]] from 1972 to 1978; he also taught at [[Rockland Community College]] from 1973 to 1975. During the same period, Kaura attended the universities of [[Long Island University|Long Island]] and [[Columbia University|Columbia]].<ref name=CV/>

From 1989 to 1998, Kaura was vice president of the [[Democratic Turnhalle Alliance]] (DTA).<ref name=CV/> After DTA President [[Mishake Muyongo]] expressed support for [[Caprivi Strip|Caprivi]] secession in 1998, he was suspended from the DTA in August 1998,<ref>"Namibia: Opposition party reportedly suspends leader", SAPA, 25 August 1998.</ref> and Kaura became DTA president.<ref name=CV/><ref name=Return>"Namibia: Party leader says ex-opposition leader Muyongo should return, be tried", NBC Radio, Windhoek, 31 October 1998.</ref> He called for Muyongo, who had fled into exile, to be brought back to Namibia and put on trial.<ref name=Return/>

Immediately prior to independence, Kaura was a member of the [[Constituent Assembly of Namibia|Constituent Assembly]], which was in place from November 1989 to March 1990.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030820180107/http://www.parliament.gov.na/ims/pub/getindivs.asp?e=65&en=Constituent+Assembly+of+Namibia+November+1989+-+March+1990 List of members of the Constituent Assembly], parliament.gov.na.</ref> He has served as a member of the [[National Assembly of Namibia]] from independence in 1990<ref name=CV/> until 2015. He ran for [[President of Namibia]] in 1999 and 2004, receiving 9.6 percent<ref>''Political Parties of the World'' (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 428.</ref><ref name=Update>[http://www.eisa.org.za/PDF/eu200403nam.pdf "ELECTION UPDATE 2004, NAMIBIA"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203142841/http://www.eisa.org.za/PDF/eu200403nam.pdf |date=3 December 2008 }}, EISA report, number 3, 10 December 2004, page 9.</ref> and 5.12 percent of the vote, respectively.<ref name=Update/> Following the 1999 election, he became leader of the official opposition (composed of the DTA and the [[United Democratic Front (Namibia)|United Democratic Front]]) in April 2000.<ref name=CV/>

In the 2013 DTA elective central committee meeting, [[McHenry Venaani]] defeated Kaura by a margin of 96 to 52 and assumed the party presidency.<ref name="youth">{{cite news |url=http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=3351&page_type=story_detail |title=Youth take over at DTA |last=Immanuel |first=Shinovene |date=9 September 2013 |work=[[The Namibian]] |access-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910021907/http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=3351&page_type=story_detail |archive-date=10 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After publicly criticising Venaani's leadership, Kaura was brought before a DTA disciplinary committee and expelled from the party in February 2014. He was also to lose his seat in the National Assembly in the process to Venaani,<ref>{{cite news |title=DTA boots out Kaura |last1=Immanuel |first1=Shinovene |last2=Kahiurika |first2=Ndanki |date=3 February 2014 |work=[[The Namibian]] |url=http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=8832&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1 |access-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221015104/http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=8832&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1 |archive-date=21 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> but a court case brought by Kaura days after the decision was not contested by the DTA, and Kaura was reinstated both as parliamentarian and party member.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=9301&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1 |title=Kaura is back |last=Kahiurika |first=Ndanki |date=13 February 2014 |newspaper=[[The Namibian]] |access-date=13 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221095537/http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=9301&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1 |archive-date=21 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He left the National Assembly at the end of his term in March 2015<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/201504141188.html "Kaura in Wilderness Over Honorary Status"], ''New Era'', 14 April 2015.</ref> and joined the ruling [[SWAPO]] party in November 2017.<ref>{{Cite news | title=I found a new political home – Kaura | last=Iileka | first=Sakeus | newspaper=[[The Namibian]] | date=14 November 2017 | page=3 | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/61490/read/I-found-a-new-political-home-%E2%80%93-Kaura | access-date=14 November 2017 | archive-date=15 November 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115082913/https://www.namibian.com.na/61490/read/I-found-a-new-political-home-%E2%80%93-Kaura | url-status=live }}</ref>

Kaura died at [[Roman Catholic Hospital]] in [[Windhoek]] at the age of 80 from COVID-19.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Former DTA president Kaura dies | last=Mbathera | first=Ester | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=read&id=109311 | date=23 January 2022 | newspaper=[[The Namibian]] | language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | title=Okakarara burial for Kaura | last=Tjitemisa | first=Kuzeeko | url=https://neweralive.na/posts/okakarara-burial-for-kaura | date=27 January 2022 | newspaper=[[New Era (Namibia)|New Era]] | language=en-ZA}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaura, Katuutire}} [[Category:1941 births]] [[Category:2022 deaths]] [[Category:Members of the National Assembly (Namibia)]] [[Category:Long Island University alumni]] [[Category:Columbia University alumni]] [[Category:Politicians from Otjozondjupa Region]] [[Category:Popular Democratic Movement politicians]] [[Category:People from Upper Nyack, New York]] [[Category:Candidates for President of Namibia]] [[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia]]