The inaugural leader of sovereign Namibia, Sam Nujoma, has passed away at the age of 95 in the capital, Windhoek, the nation’s current head has declared.
Nujoma spearheaded the protracted struggle for autonomy from South Africa in 1990 after co-founding Namibia’s freedom movement, the South West Peoples’ Organisation (Swapo), during the 1960s.
Following liberation, Nujoma assumed the presidency in 1990 and governed the country until 2005.
He had been admitted to the hospital for the past three weeks due to an ailment from which he “could not recuperate,” Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba stated in an announcement expressing “profound sorrow and grief.”
He “motivated us to stand tall and become custodians of this expansive land of our forebears,” President Mbumba remarked.
He continued: “Our founding patriarch lived a lengthy and impactful existence, during which he devotedly served the citizens of his cherished homeland.”
Nujoma stepped down as head of state in 2005 but remained at the helm of the party before relinquishing his role as president of the ruling Swapo party in 2007 after 47 years in leadership.
Numerous Namibians have responded to his demise with grief, fondly recalling him as the “father of the nation,” reports the BBC’s Frauke Jensen from Namibia’s capital, Windhoek.
An emotional Mbumba visited Nujoma’s residence to extend sympathies to his relatives, including his spouse, Kovambo Theopoldine Katjimune, 91.
Nujoma is largely acknowledged for securing harmony and stability after liberation from South Africa, which was then governed by a white-minority administration, in 1990.
His policy of national unity encouraged the country’s white populace to remain, and they continue to hold a significant role in agriculture and other industries.
He also advocated for the rights of women and children, including implementing measures requiring fathers to financially support offspring born outside of wedlock.
Namibia’s Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is set to be sworn in as president in March after steering Swapo to success in elections, stated that his “visionary guidance and commitment to emancipation and nation-building established the groundwork for our liberated, unified country.”
African heads of state have joined in paying homage, with African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat describing Nujoma as “the embodiment of bravery, never wavering from his dream of a liberated Namibia and a cohesive Africa.”
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed the former Namibian leader as an “exceptional freedom fighter” who played a pivotal role not only in his country’s battle against subjugation but also in the movement that resulted in the abolition of white-minority rule in South Africa in 1994.
“President Nujoma’s stewardship of an independent Namibia laid the groundwork for the camaraderie and alliance our two nations enjoy today – a bond we will continue to strengthen as neighbors and allies,” Ramaphosa added.
Kenya’s President William Ruto stated that Nujoma was a “far-sighted statesman who committed his life to the liberation and advancement of his homeland.”
Arrangements for the funeral are yet to be disclosed.
