WINDHOEK: Sam Nujoma, the activist and guerrilla leader who became Namibia’s first democratically elected president after it won its independence from apartheid South Africa, died aged 95 on Saturday, the Namibian Presidency said on Sunday. Nujoma rose to head the thinly populated southern African country on March 21, 1990 and was formally recognized as “Founding Father of the Namibian Nation” through a 2005 act of parliament.
The acclaim was balanced out by domestic and international criticism over his intolerance of critical media coverage.
He was a longtime ally of Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe, backing Mugabe’s land seizures from white farmers, though at home Nujoma stuck to a “willing buyer, willing seller” policy.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Nujoma rose to head the thinly populated southern African country on March 21, 1990 and was formally recognized as ‘Founding Father of the Namibian Nation.’
• He was a longtime ally of Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe, backing Mugabe’s land seizures from white farmers.
“The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken,” the presidency posted on X.
“Our venerable leader, Dr. Nujoma did not only blaze the trail to freedom – but he also inspired us to rise to our feet and to become masters of this vast land of our ancestors.”
The presidency said Nujoma had been hospitalized for medical treatment over the past three weeks, adding: “Unfortunately, this time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness.”
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said Nujoma’s leadership of a free Namibia laid the foundation for the solidarity and partnership the two countries share today, “a partnership we will continue to deepen as neighbors and friends.”
“Dr. Sam Nujoma was an extraordinary freedom fighter who divided his revolutionary program between Namibia’s own struggle against South African colonialism and the liberation of South Africa from apartheid,” he said in a statement.
African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat hailed Nujoma as one of the continent’s “most illustrious revolutionary leaders” and “the epitome of courage.”
