₦airaland Forum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWp27oHOMYs

WINDHOEK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Sam Nujoma[b], 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.[/b]

Nujoma rose to head the thinly populated southern African country on March 21, 1990 and was formally recognised 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, his railing against homosexuality and over the 1998 constitutional amendment that let him run for a third term.

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.

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 hospitalised 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."

COMPLEX LEGACY

Nujoma served his three terms as president from 1990 to 2005 and sought to project himself as a unifying leader bridging political divides.

In a country scarred by the legacy of apartheid and German colonial rule, Nujoma's SWAPO party oversaw a national reconciliation programme under the motto "One Namibia, One Nation".

In his speeches, Nujoma made a point of repeating the phrase: "A united people, striving to achieve a common good for all members of the society, will always emerge victorious."

His achievements included establishing democratic institutions and prioritising reconciliation, said Ndumba Kamwanyah, a lecturer at the University of Namibia and a political analyst.

But his autocratic tendencies, on display in his treatment of the media and brutal suppression of the 1999 Caprivi rebellion, cast a shadow over his legacy, Kamwanyah added.
"While Nujoma's presidency was foundational in establishing Namibia's independence and governance, it was not without flaws," Kamwanyah said.

CAMPAIGNER AND GUERRILLA

Nujoma was born in a village in northwestern Namibia in 1929, when his country was under South African administration. South Africa had controlled Namibia since World War One after a brutal few decades of German colonial rule remembered for the genocide of the Herero and Nama people.

As a boy he looked after his family's cattle and attended a Finnish mission school, before moving to the coastal town of Walvis Bay and then the capital Windhoek, where he worked for South African Railways, according to a biography posted on the website of Nujoma's charitable foundation.

Nujoma left his job on the railways to focus his energies on bringing down the apartheid system.

In the late 1950s he became leader of the Owambo People's Organisation, a precursor to liberation movement SWAPO, organising resistance to the forced relocation of Black people in Windhoek that culminated in the police killing 12 unarmed people and wounding dozens more.

Nujoma was charged with organising the resistance and arrested. In 1960, he went into exile. He travelled across Africa before reaching the United States, where he petitioned the United Nations for Namibia's independence.

Made SWAPO leader in absentia, Nujoma established its armed wing and in 1966 launched a guerrilla war against the apartheid government.

It took more than a decade of pressure from Nujoma and others before a U.N. Security Council resolution in 1978 proposed a ceasefire and elections, and another decade for the ceasefire deal to be signed and elections held in late 1989.

SWAPO won a majority in those elections, and Nujoma took office in March the following year.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/namibias-founding-father-sam-nujoma-dies-aged-95-presidency-says-2025-02-09/

Rest in peace Mr president, you fought well for your country's liberation

Sending my condolences to his family and the people of Namibia

Sunset !
We salute the memory of a great Pan-Africanist, leader of the SWAPO
(South West Africa People's Organization officially known as the SWAPO ).
R.I.P.
You achieved victory.

May his soul rest in peace

You have done well. Rip sir

This man have an estate in Galadimawa apo side close to Efab estate. Rest in peace sir.

Hu

xyrexzmanto:
This man have an estate in Galadimawa apo side close to Efab estate. Rest in peace sir.

I think it was named after him.

Eeya...

God1000:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWp27oHOMYs



https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/namibias-founding-father-sam-nujoma-dies-aged-95-presidency-says-2025-02-09/

While he’s remembered for his role in freeing Namibia, his legacy is mixed, with criticism for his autocratic rule and stances on issues like media freedom. Despite these flaws, his contribution to the nation’s independence and unity is undeniable, and history will likely remember him for paving the way for Namibia's freedom.

God1000:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWp27oHOMYs



https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/namibias-founding-father-sam-nujoma-dies-aged-95-presidency-says-2025-02-09/

Reminds me of the apartheid-era song sung by young white army recruits in South Africa:
I wanna gooo to Angola
I wanna gooo to Angola
I wanna killll Sam Nujoma
I wanna killll Sam Nujoma

May his soul rest in peace 🙏🏾.

Ok

the man tried. hope children of today will remember him and mugabe for destroying british and european colonial injustices in their homeland.

A true national hero.
Africa will miss him.
Rest in Peace Mr. President

a country where germans own most of the lands like we have in south africa

Rip Namibia founding father

RIP Legend 🕯

Namibia. They have the best road infrastructure in Africa

RIP comrade sam nujoma. I remember your posters as pasted all over the walls in my secondary school days, seeking election in your country as president for the first time.

We don't see such foreign political posters anymore in Nigeria. What could be the cause?. I remember the Mandela campaign poster too

I noticed that most African foubding leaders who fought the colonial masters took up arms at one time or the other. Nelson Mandela was at a time regarded a terrorist with his ANC party.

Greater than Awo the backstabber

free2ryhme:
While he’s remembered for his role in freeing Namibia, his legacy is mixed, with criticism for his autocratic rule and stances on issues like media freedom. Despite these flaws, his contribution to the nation’s independence and unity is undeniable, and history will likely remember him for paving the way for Namibia's freedom.

Imperfection lies in every living matter

Karlovich:
Greater than Awo the backstabber

Hmmmm, son of a witch always a wizard

So sad. One of the old African freedom fighters.

May his family be consoled.

Rip
You have done your part

These useless and perversed western media must find a way to cast aspersions on African icons.

See the subtle ways they smuggled in their negativity in his biography.

Na Trump fits una laslas.

I remember him as one of the shining lights of the apartheid era. May his soul rest in peace.

Good


God! Make ibreach @least 80 b4 I disappear biko. 🙏 I don see much