Sam Nujoma, the primary president of unbiased Namibia who led the rustic to freedom from apartheid South Africa in 1990, has died, Namibia’s present chief introduced Sunday. He used to be 95. Referred to as the daddy of his country, Nujoma served for 15 years as Namibia’s founding president, from 1990 till 2005.
Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba mentioned Nujoma died from an sickness Saturday evening after being hospitalized within the capital, Windhoek. He didn’t percentage explicit information about Nujoma’s well being situation.
“The principles of the Republic of Namibia were shaken,” Mbumba mentioned in a statement. “Over the last 3 weeks, the Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and Founding Father of the Namibian Country used to be hospitalized for scientific remedy and scientific statement because of sick well being.”
“Sadly, this time, probably the most gallant son of our land may just now not get better from his sickness,” Mbumba added. He mentioned Nujoma “equipped most management to our country and spared no effort to encourage each Namibian to construct a rustic that may stand tall and proud some of the countries of the arena” and praised him for marshaling the Namibian other folks via “the darkest hours of our liberation fight.”
A fiery anti-apartheid activist, Nujoma helped release Namibia’ liberation motion, known as the South West Peoples’ Group, or SWAPO, within the Sixties, and went on to steer the rustic’s long fight for independence from South Africa.
Themba Hadebe / AP
Nujoma used to be the ultimate of a technology of African leaders who introduced their nations out of colonial or white minority rule that incorporated South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and Mozambique’s Samora Machel.
He used to be respected in his arid, carefully populated hometown in southwest Africa as a charismatic father determine who suggested it to democracy and balance after lengthy colonial rule by means of Germany and a sour warfare of independence from South Africa.
He spent just about 30 years in exile because the chief of Namibia’s independence motion earlier than returning for Parliamentary elections in past due 1989, the primary democratic vote within the nation. He used to be elected president by means of lawmakers months later in 1990 as Namibia’s independence used to be showed.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned Nujoma led Namibia’s independence motion “in opposition to the reputedly unshakeable would possibly of colonial and apartheid government and forces” and spurred the anti-apartheid motion in South Africa by itself ultimate steps to freedom.
“Sam Nujoma impressed the Namibian other folks to delight and resistance that belied the dimensions of the inhabitants,” Ramaphosa mentioned. “Namibia’s attainment of independence from South Africa in 1990 ignited in us the inevitability of our personal liberation.”
Jean-Marc Bouju / AP
Many Namibians additionally credited Nujoma’s management for the method of nationwide reconciliation after the deep divisions led to by means of the independence warfare and South Africa’s insurance policies of dividing the rustic into ethnically primarily based regional governments, with separate training and well being take care of each and every race.
Even political combatants praised Nujoma — who used to be branded a Marxist and accused of ruthless suppression of dissent whilst in exile — for setting up a democratic Charter and involving white businessmen and politicians in executive after independence.
Regardless of his pragmatism and nation-building at house, Nujoma frequently hit overseas headlines for his fierce anti-Western rhetoric. At a United International locations convention in Geneva in 2000, Nujoma shocked delegates when he claimed AIDS used to be a synthetic organic weapon. He additionally now and again waged a verbal warfare on homosexuality, calling gays “idiots” and branding homosexuality a “overseas and corrupt ideology.”
He as soon as banned all overseas tv techniques, stating that they had corrupted the adolescence of Namibia.
Nujoma constructed ties with North Korea, Cuba, Russia and China, a few of which had supported Namibia’s liberation motion by means of offering fingers and coaching.
However he balanced that with outreach to the West, and Nujoma used to be the primary African chief to be hosted on the White Area by means of former U.S. President Invoice Clinton in 1993. Clinton known as Nujoma “the George Washington of his nation” and “a real hero of the arena’s motion towards democracy.”
Nujoma additionally advocated for the development of girls in a in large part patriarchal area, pronouncing “there’s no scarcity of competent and skilled African ladies to paved the way ahead.” Namibia elected its first feminine president ultimate yr and President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s time period is because of get started subsequent month.
THEMBA HADEBE / AP
Nujoma grew up in a rural, impoverished circle of relatives, the eldest of eleven kids. His early lifestyles revolved round having a look after farm animals and the cultivation of land. He attended a venture faculty and labored in a normal retailer after which a whaling station at the coast, earlier than a task in Windhoek as a cleaner for South African Railways.
He used to be arrested following a political protest in 1959 and fled the territory in a while after his unlock to enter exile in Tanzania. There, he helped determine the South West African Other people’s Group and used to be named its president in 1960. SWAPO has been Namibia’s ruling birthday celebration since 1990, and Nujoma in the long run led it for 47 years till stepping down in 2007.
When South Africa refused to heed a 1966 U.N. solution finishing the mandate it have been given over the German colony of South West Africa after Global Battle I, Nujoma introduced SWAPO’s guerrilla marketing campaign.
“We began the armed fight with handiest two sub-machine weapons and two pistols,” Nujoma as soon as mentioned. “I were given them from Algeria, plus some rounds of ammunition.”
SWAPO by no means accomplished army victory in an independence warfare that lasted greater than two decades, however Nujoma received large political beef up right through his exile, resulting in the U.N. stating SWAPO the only consultant of the Namibian other folks and South Africa in the long run taking flight from the rustic.
As he blended with global leaders, Nujoma used to be acutely aware of his humble roots and loss of training. After leaving faculty early to paintings, he later attended evening faculty, in large part to support his English. He mentioned he devoted his lifestyles to his nation’s liberation.
“Others were given their training whilst I led the fight,” he mentioned.
