The founding president of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, has died at 95 after three weeks of being hospitalised, incumbent President Nangolo Mbumba announced on Sunday.
“Nujoma died on Saturday night after being hospitalised in the capital, Windhoek,” Mr Mbumba said. “The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken.”
Mr Mbumba described Mr Nujoma’s death as unfortunate, saying, “This time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness”.
Mr Nujoma led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years.
The former president was a revered individual in his hometown. He was seen as a charismatic father figure who was instrumental in steering his country to democracy and stability after long colonial rule by Germany and a bitter war of independence from South Africa.
Mr Njuoma spent 30 years in exile as the leader of its independent movement before retiring home to be elected the first democratic leader of Namibia in 1990.
He grew up in a rural, impoverished family, being the eldest of 11 children. His early life revolved around looking out for his parents’ cattle and farming on their land.
The late politician was arrested in 1959 following a political protest but fled the country shortly after his release. In exile, he established the South West Africa Peoples Organisation, SWAPO, Namibia’s ruling party to date.
Mr Njuoma, among other African former leaders like South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, pioneered the revolutionisation of their countries out of the colonial minority in the 1990s.
Many of his compatriots have credited his leadership with 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 ethnic governments, with separate education and health care for each race.
The late Namibian leader also built ties with countries such as Korea, Cuba, Russia and China, which supported Namibia’s Liberation movement with arms and training.
He also had his outreach to the West, being the first African president to be hosted in the White House by the U.S. 42nd president, Bill Clinton, in 1993.
