Namibia’s founding president Sam Nujoma die aged 95 after short illness
Nujoma had been hospitalised in Windhoek for three weeks, receiving treatment under close observation before succumbing to his illness.
Namibia’s founding president Sam Nujoma has died aged 95 years after a short illness.
The fiery freedom fighter is celebrated for leading Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years.
Nujoma had been hospitalised in Windhoek for three weeks, receiving treatment under close observation before succumbing to his illness.
He is survived by his wife, Kovambo (91), and their children.
Nujoma’s death was announced earlier today by current Namibian president Nangolo Mbumba.
Mbumba said Nujoma died yesterday night after being hospitalised in the capital, Windhoek.
Nujoma was revered in his homeland as the charismatic father of the nation who steered his country to democracy and stability after long colonial rule by Germany and a bitter war of independence from South Africa.
He was the last of a generation of African leaders who led their countries out of colonial or white minority rule that included South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda and Mozambique’s Samora Machel.
Many Namibians credited Nujoma’s leadership for the process of national healing and reconciliation after the deep divisions caused by the independence war and South Africa’s policies of dividing the country into ethnically based regional governments, with separate education and healthcare for each race.
Even his political opponents praised Nujoma – who was branded a Marxist and accused of ruthless suppression of dissent while in exile – for establishing a democratic constitution and involving white businessmen and politicians in government after independence.
Despite his pragmatism and nation-building at home, Nujoma often hit foreign headlines for his fierce anti-western rhetoric.
He claimed Aids was a human-made biological weapon and also occasionally waged a verbal war on homosexuality, calling gays “idiots” and branding homosexuality a “foreign and corrupt ideology”.
A founding member of the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), Nujoma played a key role in Namibia’s liberation struggle, leading armed incursions from Angola to fight South Africa’s illegal occupation. He is credited with mobilizing the Namibian people against South African troops, ultimately forcing their withdrawal.
On March 21, 1990, with Nujoma as president-elect, Namibia’s flag was raised for the first time. He led the country for 15 years before stepping down in 2005.
Born to poor farmers from the Ovambo tribe, Nujoma was the eldest of 10 children. He began working as a railway sweeper in 1949 while attending night classes that shaped his political consciousness. In the late 1950s, he joined black workers in Windhoek resisting forced relocation to a new township.
In 1960, the same year he went into exile, he was elected to lead SWAPO, which spearheaded Namibia’s independence movement.
Reflecting on his legacy, Namibian President Mbumba stated: “Our founding father lived a long and consequential life during which he exceptionally served the people of his beloved country. He inspired us to rise to our feet and to become masters of this vast land of our ancestors.”
