WINDHOEK: Thou­sands of Namibians and dignitaries gathered on Saturday to mourn the country’s independence leader, Sam Nujoma, as nearly a month of homage climaxed with a state funeral.

Nujoma, the guerrilla leader who won independence for the desert nation from apartheid South Africa, died on Feb 9, aged 95. His casket — draped in the blue, white, red and green Namibian flag — was pulled in a gun carriage to its final resting place at the Heroes’ Acre, a mountainous memorial for the country’s liberation war dead outside the capital Windhoek.

Several African leaders including South African President Cyril Ramap­hosa, Angola’s Joao Loure­nco, Emmerson Mnangagwa from Zimbabwe and foreign officials counting Cuba’s parliamentary speaker Esteban Lazo Hernandez attended the burial, which was broadcast live on state television.

Namibia’s President Nangolo Mbumba opened the tributes and called Nujoma “the most distinguished son of the soil”. He was a “giant” among leaders, he said of the man who headed the South West People’s Organisa­tion (SWAPO) that led the liberation struggle.

“You were the ultimate statesman,” he said, adding: “May your legacy become a source of strength as we continue to uphold your command of maintaining unity of purpose.” Nujoma’s black-clad widow did not speak at Saturday’s ceremony but in a speech read on her behalf the previous day, she described him as “steadfast, resolute, honest, and disciplined.” “When my husband left for exile, my family and I were not spared from the hardships. Yet even in his absence, my husband’s love and strength enveloped us,” she told a memorial serviced marked by songs and prayer.

A 21-gun salute boomed as the bronze casket inscribed with Namibia’s coat of arms and Nujoma’s name was lowered into the grave in an imposing private mausoleum, as military aircraft conducted a flypast.

Born to poor farmers from the Ovambo ethnic group, Nujoma was the eldest of 10 children. His first job was as a railway sweeper in 1949 while he attended night classes that spurred his political awakening.

He banded with black workers in Windhoek who were resisting a government order to move to a new township in the late 1950s. Nujoma began a life in exile in 1960, the same year he was elected to head SWAPO which launched an armed struggle six years later after South Africa refused a UN order to give up its mandate over the former German colony.

After independence, Nujoma became president in 1990 and led the country until 2005. He gave up the reins of SWAPO two years after standing down from the presidency.

Over his three terms Nujoma presided over a period of relative economic prosperity and political stability. His policy on AIDS earned some international praise.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025