Kerina then became a graduate fellow at New School for Social Research, New York, and between 1960 and 1962 did a PhD at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia.
Kerina subsequently wrote an opinion piece in an Indonesian publication about a yet-to-be created country Namib and its nationalist movement, Namibianism.
[6] From 1956 onwards, Kerina was among the first petitioners to the United Nations for Namibian independence on behalf of the Herero Chiefs' Council.
Other early petitioners besides Kerina and Scott were Hosea Kutako, Hans Beukes, Markus Kooper, Ismael Fortune, advocate Jariretundu Kozonguizi, and Namibia's founding President Sam Nujoma.
[2] The year 1959 saw the establishment of two important Namibian black nationalist parties: the South West Africa National Union (SWANU) and the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO).
[2] The event was one of the factors leading to the foundation of SWAPO[8] by forcing community leaders from OPO into exile, including Sam Nujoma.
[9] It is also probably one of the main reasons for SWAPO to have put less effort into petitioning and resistance, and to turn the independence struggle into an armed conflict.
They looked with disdain on those seeking a political solution to the independence question in Namibia.In 1964 Kerina returned from the US for an unsuccessful attempt to enter Namibia.
In September 1965 the National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) was founded by Kerina, Clemens Kapuuo, and Hosea Kutako.
[15] In the meantime, the white inhabitants of South West Africa and conservative black members of the population, including Kerina, tried to contain the violence and preserve the status quo.
The South African government hoped that by means of small reforms and compromises a broad spectrum of the indigenous population would cease their support for armed resistance.
This historic development is in conformity with major resolutions of the United Nations, the Advisory Opinions of the International Court of Justice, and the Lusaka Manifesto.He also criticised the UN General Assembly's 1972 decision to recognise SWAPO as the 'sole legitimate representative' of Namibia's people:[20] It is unfortunate, indeed, that the United Nations has been prematurely hoodwinked into the recognition of one Namibian tribal faction as 'the sole authentic representative' group of all Namibians at the expense of the majority of the people.After the Turnhalle conference Kerina initiated a number of political movements in South West Africa.
[5] Kerina returned to active politics in 1998 as Regional Councillor for the Aminuis Constituency on a Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) ticket.
[22] Between 1953 and Namibian independence in 1990, Kerina stayed in the United States but frequently visited Namibia for sustained periods.
[24] In 2019, the City of Windhoek named former Bahnhof Street in the central business district after him in recognition of his role in the fight for Namibian independence.