NAMIBIA’S PRESIDENT HAGE GEINGOB DIES AGED 82 AFTER CANCER TREATMENT

“The Namibian nation has lost a distinguished servant of the people, a liberation struggle icon, the chief architect of our constitution and the pillar of the Namibian house,” Mbumba said.

“At this moment of deepest sorrow, I appeal to the nation to remain calm and collected while the Government attends to all necessary state arrangements, preparations and other protocols. Further announcements in this regard will be made.”

Geingob’s office announced last month that he had begun treatment following the discovery of “cancerous cells” during a routine colonoscopy and gastroscopy.

The announcement did not provide details of the African leader’s diagnosis or prognosis but said he would continue to carry out his presidential duties.

Geingob’s office later announced that he would travel to the United States for medical care and would return to Namibia on February 2.

Born in a village in northern Namibia in 1941, Geingob was its first president outside the Ovambo ethnic group, which makes up more than half of the country’s population.

He took up activism against South Africa’s apartheid regime, which at the time ruled over Namibia, from his early schooling years before being driven into exile.

He spent almost three decades in Botswana and the US, leaving the former for the latter in 1964.

While in the US, he remained a vocal advocate for Namibia’s independence, representing the local liberation movement, Swapo, now the ruling party, at the UN and across the Americas.

When Swapo won the first elections in 1990, Geingob was appointed prime minister – a position he held for 12 years before returning to it again in 2012.

In 2013, the anti-apartheid activist-turned-politician underwent brain surgery, and the following year he revealed that he had survived prostate cancer.

Last year, Geingob announced he had undergone aortic surgery in neighbouring South Africa.

Geingob was ineligible to run for reelection as Namibia’s constitution limits the president to a maximum of two terms in office.

The ruling SWAPO Party’s presidential candidate, Nandi-Ndaitwah, would be the country’s first female head of state if elected.