John Sinvula Mutwais a retired Namibian military officer who's last appointment was as Chief of the Namibian Defence Force. He was appointed the Commander of the Namibian Army in 2011, and NDF Chief on 31 December 2013 he retired on 31 March 2020.
Career
PLAN
Mutwa's military career began in 1975 when he joined the Peoples Liberational Army of Namibia in Zambia. In 1976 he under went military training in Kongwa, Tanzania and completed the officer cadet course. In 1978 he then completed the Intelligence and Counter Intelligence Course in the former Yugoslavia.. Between 1979 to 1980 he was the Regional Staff Officer for Administration on the Eastern Front, while between 1980 to 1989 he was the regional Chief of Reconnaissance at the eastern and Northern Fronts.
NDF
In 1990 he joined the Namibian Defence Force as a pioneer and was given the rank of lieutenant Colonel and appointed as assistant director: Military Intelligence. In 1994 he was reassigned as the Commanding officer of the Army's Logistics Support Battalion at the Army Grootfontein with the same rank. In 1996 he was promoted to Colonel and appointed as Army Chief of Staff in the office of the Army Commander. In 1998 he was then redeployed as the Army Chief of Staff: Personnel and Logistics, in this position he was then deployed to Operation Atlantic, Namibia's contribution to the SADCAllied forces to the DRC during the Second Congo War. While deployed in DRC he was appointed as the Chief Of Staff of the SADC Allied Forces between 1999 and 2000 and seconded as a commissioner on the Joint Military Commission on DRC in 2000, Namibia's Operation Atlantic ended in 2002 with all troops deployed back to Namibia. In 2004 he was appointed as the Defence Attache to Angola. In 2006 he was promoted to Brigadier General and appointed as the Chief of staff Logitics as Defence HQ. Mutwa was appointed Commander of the Army in April 2011. At this occasion, he was promoted from brigadier general to Major General. He served in that position until 31 December 2013, when he took over the position as NDF Chief from Lieutenant GeneralEpaphras Denga Ndaitwah.
