Philemon Moongo is 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 Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, Moongo has been a member of the National Assembly

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...

 since 1995.

Career

Moongo was an ardent supporter of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and fled into exile with the liberation struggle in the mid-1970s. In exile, he eventually became a platoon commander in the People's Liberation Army of Namibia

People's Liberation Army of Namibia

The People's Liberation Army of Namibia was the active military wing of the South West Africa People's Organization during the Namibian War of Independence. It sought independence for the territory from South African rule. PLAN launched its first attack on the South African military at...

 (PLAN), the armed wing of SWAPO. However, he was arrested and detained for SWAPO from 1976 to 1978 in first Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

 then Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 for taking part in protests regarding poor living conditions of exiles and organizational corruption. Following his release in 1978, Moongo moved to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 for a short time before returning to Namibia and organizing support for a new political party, SWAPO Democrats

SWAPO Democrats

The SWAPO Democrats was a political party formed from a break within the South West Africa People's Organization. Formed in Sweden on 10 June 1978, the party was led by former leading SWAPO members Andreas Shipanga , Kenneth Abrahams, Ottilie Abrahams , and Emil Appolus was formed in response to a...

. SWAPO Democrats joined the Multi-Party Conference, which sought to come to a settlement over Namibian independence with SWAPO's involvement, in 1983. From 1985 to 1989, Moongo was a SWAPO Democrats delegate to the Transitional Government of National Unity assembly

Transitional Government of National Unity (Namibia)

The Transitional Government of National Unity was the government of Namibia from June 1985 to February 1989. The TGNU was a puppet government of Apartheid South Africa that sought moderate reform but was unable to secure recognition by the United Nations...

. However, SWAPO Democrats received just 3,000 votes in the 1989 constituent assembly election

Namibian parliamentary election, 1989

Parliamentary elections were held in Namibia between 7 and 11 November 1989. These elections were for the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which, upon independence in March 1990, became the National Assembly of Namibia.-Background:...

 prior to independence and the party became defunct soon after. Moongo joined the leading opposition party following independence, the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, in 1990 and soon became regional chairperson for much of northern and central Namibia. In 1994, Moongo was put on the voter list for the DTA and was elected to the National Assembly, where he has been a member ever since.