The man behind the nation’s anthem: Axali’s living legacy

Axali Doeseb spends most of his days in his living room doing what he loves – composing songs.

At the age of 69 he makes an effort to leave the house every now and then for some fresh air with his walker.

On this particular Sunday afternoon, the veteran composer has just arrived home from church with his family when The Namibian pays him a visit at home in Katutura’s ‘Gemengde Location’.

Doeseb walks with difficulty since his right leg was amputated in June due to diabetes.

He manages a smile as he greets in rapid Damara-Nama, still dressed in his Sunday best – a purple shirt and black trousers.

He takes us to a room with a big-screen television and a laptop at the desk.

This is the space in the house where he composes church hymns and school anthems that continue to echo in the hearts of many Namibians.

During our interview, a child interrupts our conversation asking for ys (ice lollies) at the gate.

“There is no ice. Come back later,” he tells the child before the child scurries off.

The family sells ice lollies to the children in the neighbourhood.

Sometimes, he says, his neighbours stand at the gate listening to his new melodies.

Doeseb says he has no complaints about the quality of his life today.

“The government takes good care of me. I was granted veteran status,” he says.

HOW THE ANTHEM WAS BORN

Doeseb is known as the man who composed Namibia’s national anthem.

He still remembers how he was selected.

The idea was borne in 1991 when the then information ministry told him they were planning to stage a competition for composers to come up with what would be Namibia’s official anthem.

Doeseb, Namibia’s first post-independence black conductor of the Namibian National Symphony Orchestra, says after playing old church hymns at the memorial service of anti-apartheid activist and lawyer Anton Lubowski in September 1989, he was inspired to play something fresh at the stalwart’s funeral service.

“I am very impulsive when it comes to composing. I dream about the music inspired by the occasion I’m producing the music for. Something just came into mind suddenly during the funeral service at the Old Katutura Cemetery.

“I just started to play something on the piano like someone possessed. I even forgot that I played afterwards, and I remembered that someone was recording the service. I went back to that person and he gave me the cassette recording,” Doeseb recalls.

He says he was the only black musician competing against white music lecturers, graduates and people with doctorate degrees in music.

“They didn’t know, but I had travelled the length of the country and knew the cultures of the inhabitants.

“I had what the other composers did not have – the African element.

“Only two songs qualified for the final, that of Ernst van Biljon and mine, and the rest is history,” he says.

About the late former Swapo stalwart Hidipo Hamutenya claiming to have penned the words of the anthem, Doeseb says: “Any composer anywhere in the world will tell you that it is impossible to compose a song over the words of another person.”

Doeseb, who was the head of music of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio stations, has also composed 22 school anthems.

He is currently also the Inner City Lutheran Church’s pianist.

RAISED ON MUSIC

Doeseb virtually grew up at Okahandja surrounded by musicians.

His late father, Casper Doeseb played the violin, and his older sister, Mathilde Doeses, was a good singer.

His love for music was later enhanced by Fritz Schneider, a missionary from Germany who was the youth and brass leader of the Lutheran Church at Okahandja.

This was before he was expelled from the country by the pre-independence regime. Schneider made sure that Doeseb was admitted to Martin Luther High School (MLH) first before he returned to Germany.

“That is where Axali Doeseb the musician was born. I started to take piano lessons together with Emile Keister at our music teacher Norzig, and that’s how I started to read and write notes,” he says.

Doeseb’s former band mate and homeboy from Okahandja, Tokollo ‘Doc’ //Naobeb says: “Axali was a very quiet chappie at school. He comes from a very religious family where music was part of the household.

“He was very eager to learn to play the music instruments, and he also joined our brass band under Schneider, and he was taught the violin at home.”

//Naobeb, who is also considered as one of Namibia’s former exceptional footballers, said that Doeseb was also his teammate in the MLH football team.

He made a name for himself as a tricky winger with an electrifying pace.

//Naobeb linked up with Doeseb, together with Keister, singer Joni Adams and bassist Jephta to form a school band known as The Ugly Creatures.

The Uglies released three albums, and would become Namibia’s best live band with some of the country’s best instrumentalists, who could all play multiple instruments.

Retired school principal Peta Karon, a former manager of the Ugly Creatures, has the following to say about the band and Doeseb when they released !Nosa !Kheis, Generation and Creatures of the Earth.

“The Ugly Creatures are the pioneers of church and dance stage music. They were the first group to play with instruments in church. They mostly played their own compositions and when they played a cover it was a top-notch Afro-funk and they had cultural values.

“Axali was an impulsive introvert who made his mark as one of the tone setters of the group. He was never punctual for rehearsals or meetings, but when he arrived you could feel his strong presence.

“It is not surprising he has achieved what he has so far,” says Karon.

Doeseb composed most of the Uglies’ songs while his voice can also be heard on most of their hits.

He later composed liturgy for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia.

Even though he may have slowed down in his old age, Doeseb will be remembered for generations as the man who composed the country’s national anthem after independence.