Sam Nujoma, Namibia’s first president, passed away on Saturday at the age of 95. Revered for leading his country to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, Nujoma was a towering figure in the nation’s history.
As the leader of the South West Peoples’ Organisation (SWAPO) from its formation in 1960, Nujoma spearheaded the liberation struggle that eventually brought Namibia’s freedom. SWAPO has remained in power since independence, and although Nujoma stepped down from the presidency in 2005, he continued to influence Namibian politics long after his retirement in 2007 at the age of 78.
Even in retirement, Nujoma remained a significant figure. His likeness graces Namibian currency and a towering six-metre statue of him stands outside the Namibian Independence Museum. His name is honoured in streets across the country and in other Southern African nations.
One of his last public appearances was in 2022 at an Africa Day event, where he showed little sign of his age, raising a fist in defiance and recalling the ideals of Africa’s independence movements. Just weeks earlier, he criticised Germany’s offer of one billion euros in compensation for the colonial-era genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples, calling the amount woefully insignificant.
Nujoma’s public persona was often serious, and his speeches were known for their fiery rhetoric. He frequently condemned South African rule in Namibia, referring to the occupiers as boers and colonisers. During his presidency, he strongly supported Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reforms in Zimbabwe and maintained close relations with countries such as Cuba, Libya, Iran, North Korea, and China.
During the AIDS crisis, Nujoma received international praise for his policy responses, though he faced criticism for refusing to rehabilitate several hundred SWAPO fighters imprisoned in Angola on accusations of being South African spies.
Born to impoverished farmers from the Ovambo tribe, Nujoma’s political awakening began during his teenage years in Walvis Bay, where he witnessed the injustices of apartheid first-hand. He later worked as a railway sweeper while attending night school, and his political consciousness grew as he became involved with resistance movements.
In 1960, at the request of his mentor, tribal chief Hosea Kutako, Nujoma went into exile, leaving behind his family. That same year, he became president of SWAPO, leading the organisation’s efforts in the armed struggle for Namibia’s freedom.
Upon retiring from the presidency, Nujoma pursued a master’s degree in geology, with the belief that Namibia’s mountains held vast untapped mineral wealth.
