The presidential office announced that Namibia’s leader, Hage Geingob, passed away at the age of 82 in a hospital in Windhoek on Sunday morning.
In 2014, Geingob was elected as the first president and served as Namibia’s prime minister for the longest period of time. Later in the year, Namibia will be holding elections for both the presidential and national assembly positions.
In January, Geingob disclosed that he was undergoing cancer treatment while in his second term as president.
During a regular medical examination in January, a biopsy showed the presence of “cancerous cells”, according to a statement from Geingob’s office.
Nangolo Mbumba, the acting president, released a statement on Sunday expressing deep sorrow and remorse as he announced the passing of our dear president, Dr Hage G Geingob, of the Republic of Namibia.
Accompanying him were his beloved wife, Madame Monica Geingos, and his children.
Geingob had a brain surgery in 2013 and underwent an aortic operation in neighboring South Africa in 2023.
Until his passing, he had been undergoing medical care at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek.
Mbumba stated, “The Namibian people have suffered a great loss with the passing of a notable leader, a symbol of the liberation movement, the primary creator of our constitution, and a cornerstone of the Namibian community.”
In this time of great sadness, I urge the country to stay composed and composed while the Government handles all required arrangements, preparations, and procedures.
He stated that the cabinet would promptly meet to make the required preparations for the state.
Geingob, who was born in a village in northern Namibia in 1941, was the first president of the country to come from a different ethnic group than the Ovambo, who make up over half of the population.
During his formative years in school, he began to actively oppose the apartheid system in South Africa, which also encompassed Namibia. Eventually, he was forced to flee into exile.
He lived in Botswana and the US for nearly 30 years, moving from Botswana to the US in 1964.
During his time in the US, he actively supported Namibia’s independence by representing the liberation movement Swapo, which is now the ruling party, at the United Nations and throughout the Americas.
After winning the initial 1990 elections, Swapo appointed Geingob as prime minister, a role he served for 12 years before resuming it in 2012.
In 2014, Geingob was elected as president as the party continued to secure victories, leveraging its history in the fight for liberation.
During periods of transition between high-level positions, the leader maintained a calm demeanor while speaking firmly. He was often seen wearing glasses with large rims and had a small patch of grey hair on his chin. He held multiple roles within the government and his political party.
During his initial tenure as the leader of the country, he faced a challenging economic downturn, widespread joblessness, and accusations of corruption.
In 2019, materials released by WikiLeaks indicated that government representatives received unlawful payments from an Icelandic company in return for ongoing permission to use Namibia’s fishing areas.
The scandal known as the “fish rot” posed a threat to Geingob’s chances of being reelected for a second term. The president was also criticized for investing funds into an excessive government and awarding contracts to international companies instead of local ones.
In 2019, his portion of the votes decreased significantly compared to the peak of 87% in 2014. However, he still managed to secure a comfortable win with 56% of the preferences.
In his later years, he experienced a few health concerns, including a brain surgery in 2013 and a heart valve surgery in South Africa in June 2023.
As a youth, he was an enthusiastic football enthusiast and his skills on the field earned him the nickname “Danger Point”.
He entered into matrimony on three separate occasions – in 1967, 1993, and once more in 2015 – and had a total of three children.
Source: theguardian.com
