Career
In the 1990s, he served under the SWAPO government as a deputy minister and as an ambassador, but he broke with the government in 1998 and founded an opposition party, the Congress of Democrats (CoD), in 1999. Ulenga, born in Ontanga, Oshana Region, played an influential role in the independence struggle of Namibia against South African apartheid rule. He joined the People"s Liberation Army of Namibia in 1974 but was later captured after being wounded in combat and sentenced to 15 years in prison, which he spent on Robben Island.
He was released in 1985.
He was later appointed as Namibia"s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, but in August 1998 he resigned from that post to protest plans to amend the constitution so that President Sam Nujoma could run for a third term. In addition, he expressed dissatisfaction with Namibia"s military presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during that country"s civil war.
He was the CoD candidate in the 1999 presidential election, placing second behind Nujoma and receiving 10.5% of the vote. He was also elected to the National Assembly as a CoD candidate in the 1999 parliamentary election.
At a CoD congress, Ulenga was re-elected as President of the CoD on August 1, 2004.
He was also chosen as the party"s candidate for the November 2004 presidential election. In this election, he placed second with 7.28% of the vote, far behind SWAPO candidate Hifikepunye Pohamba. In the concurrent 2004 parliamentary election, he was re-elected to the National Assembly.
At an extraordinary party congress held in Keetmanshoop in May 2008, Ulenga was re-elected as CoD President.
He defeated Ignatius Shixwameni by 14 votes, and Shixwameni, rejecting the outcome, left the congress in protest along with about half of the delegates. Shixwameni alleged rigging and claimed that his CoD faction represented the majority of the party.
His faction went to the High Court to press these claims. In July 2008, the High Court ruled in favor of the Shixwameni faction, nullifying the May 2007 congress.
Ulenga accepted the decision.
In the 2009 general election, Ulenga"s support dropped significantly and he received 5,812 votes (072%), which placed him in 9th place out of 12 candidates for President. This represented more than 50,000 fewer votes than he had received when he finished second to Pohamba in the 2004 campaign. Ulenga, however, was re-elected.
