Ella Ndatega Kamanya was a Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Kamaya was appointed to the National Assembly of Namibia

National Assembly of Namibia

The National Assembly of Namibia is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 78 members. 72 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Six additional members are appointed by the President.The...

 in 2003,replacing Hage Geingob

Hage Geingob

Hage Geingob is a Namibian politician who was the first Prime Minister of Namibia following its independence, serving from 1990 to 2002...

. In March 2004, Kamanya was appointed to the Pan-African Parliament

Pan-African Parliament

The Pan-African Parliament , also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union and held its inaugural session in March 2004. The PAP exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, lasting for the first five years...

.

Controversy

In March 2004, Kamanya faced criticism for alleged graft in deals related to Black Economic Empowerment

Black Economic Empowerment

Black Economic Empowerment is a programme launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving previously disadvantaged groups economic opportunities previously not available to them...

 transactions and the San community

Bushmen

The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...

 of Namibia. She denied the allegations and died four months later.

Personal

Kamanya joined SWAPO in exile and survived the May 1978 Cassinga massacre. A businesswoman by profession, Kamanya ran movie theaters in Ongwediva

Ongwediva

Ongwediva is a town in the Oshana Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Ongwediva electoral constituency. it had 27,000 inhabitants and covered 4,102 hectares of land. Ongwediva has seven churches, two private schools and 13 government-run schools...

 and Ondangwa before joining the National Assembly. She requested to be buried in northern Namibia.