Their love story reads like a fairy tale.
They met while he was in prison and fell in love.
“Her support inspired me to become a better person. This is a friend for life,” Aggrey Makendano says, describing his bride, whom he married a day after he was released from prison after 24 years.
The Namibian witnessed as the couple exchanged vows in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura.
Behind them, a few family members and friends looked on as Makendano put a ring on Johanna’s finger.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the magistrate declared.
Makendano leaned over to kiss his bride, followed by cheers.
The two have come a long way.
Makendano (56), a former teacher, was released from Windhoek Correctional Facility a week ago. He was convicted in the main Caprivi high treason trial, and spent 24 years in jail after being arrested in August 1999. He and two fellow prisoners were released eight years after they were sentenced in the Windhoek High Court to an effective prison terms of 15 years each at the end of a marathon trial on a failed attempt to overthrow the government in the Zambezi region and secede the region from Namibia.
Makendano – a father of five – says his years behind bars were not easy, but taught him self-discipline, determination and time management.
“I took it upon myself to commit to my studies . . . Never stop learning . . ,” he says.
“She cared so much for me. I love her so much that I decided to make her part of my life permanently immediately after my release,” he says.
Johanna (43), who hails from Nkurenkuru in the Kavango West region, met Makendano at her former workplace four years ago.
She says she knew from the start he was the one for her. “Meeting him was like a dream come true. I have never felt so loved before,” she says. Johanna says she made sure that she bought enough airtime for him to keep in touch.
“I kept visiting him as often as I could, I didn’t feel the need to meet anyone else,” she says. “I remained patient and waited for him to be free again, and now it’s like a dream. He is my best friend and everything,” she says.
“I grew up an orphan and having him by my side gives me so much peace.”
Makendano had obtained a bachelor’s degree before his arrest in 1999.
After continuing his studies in prison, he obtained an honours and master’s degree in education, as well as a doctorate in 2020.
He has since embarked on his second doctorate degree. Johanna says she worked to make extra money to fund his studies.
Makendano says he is ready for employment and has declined offers to work abroad because he wants to impart the knowledge he has acquired at home.
His years of trial and prison included times of loss and grief, with both his parents and three siblings who died.
Johanna’s cousin, Nepemba Joseph, who was one of the witnesses at the wedding ceremony, says she was supportive of her cousin since she met Makendano.
“He seems so genuine and my cousin deserves this love after all the sad days and depressing situations she had to go through,” she says.
“She sacrificed a lot for her relationship and to assist her husband.”
Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) commissioner general Raphael Hamunyela says Makendano was a well-behaved inmate. “He is one of the inmates that I granted permission for internet usage for his study research. Such privileges are only granted to inmates who conduct themselves well,” he says.
Hamunyela says studying is part of the rehabilitation programmes the NCS supports. Vimbi Mahlangu, one of Makendano’s lecturers at the University of South Africa, described him as a brilliant student.
“He was a dedicated student who submitted his work on time, and I enjoyed working with him,” Mahlangu says.
Johanna says she was subjected to mockery and shame for being involved with an offender, but kept moving forward.
“I appreciate my family and pastors who supported me during the past four years,” she says. “My two children, aged 26 and 15, adore my husband and have accepted him as a father figure.
“I would like to encourage fellow women to love genuinely and experience real love, rather than being in romantic relationships for materialistic reasons.
“Today I can say I am proud of my husband and I am very happy. My heart is filled with so much love.”
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