 Imprisoned numerous times during the Namibian War of Independence, Witbooi was first elected as Vice-President of SWAPO in 1984 and was re-elected for the last time in 1997.A member of the Constituent Assembly in 1989–90, Witbooi served in the National Assembly until his 2004 retirement, including a stint (1990-1995) as Minister of Labour and Manpower Development.Witbooi became Namibia's first Deputy Prime Minister in 1995.