The last of the freedom fighters is no more. Sam Nujoma, 95, who led a long and bitter guerrilla warfare against South Africa’s apartheid government, died six days ago. He founded Namibia’s liberation movement, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), in the 1960s and led the fight for Namibia’s independence. At one time, he was demonised as a notorious Marxist terrorist leading a violent guerrilla movement against the ‘civilised colonialists’ and at the age of 30, was forced into exile.
However, we must never forget it was the so-called ‘civilised colonialists’ who almost decimated the Namibians in 1904, when German colonisers killed thousands of Namibians in a “forgotten genocide,” which seemed the forerunner to the 1940s Nazi-led Holocaust. Head of the military, Lothar von Trotha, called for the “annihilation” of the Nama and Herero population after they rebelled over the seizures of their land and cattle.
A May 28, 2021, BBC news report states, “German colonisers killed tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people there in early 20th Century massacres. Survivors from the Herero and Nama populations were forced into the desert and later placed in concentration camps where they were exploited for labour. Many died of disease, exhaustion, and starvation, with some subject to sexual exploitation and medical experimentation. It is thought up to 80 per cent of the indigenous populations died during the genocide—with a death toll in the tens of thousands.”
In his autobiography, Nujoma mentioned he got inspiration from early Namibian resistance leaders who fought against the Germans in the 1880s. By 1959, Nujoma had become head of the Ovamboland Peoples organisation, which was a forerunner to Swapo. In exile, his life reads like an adventure. With no passport, he used his skills to move incognito through various countries. He reached New York and petitioned the UN to help grant Namibia its independence.
After independence, Nujoma became president in 1990 and led the country until 2005. He retired in 2005 but insisted he maintain control and continue as party leader. He was able to get international loans for Namibia’s developmental efforts and encouraged the country’s white community to remain and continue its role in farming and other economic ventures. He initiated legislation allowing women to be able to hold fathers responsible for the maintenance of their children born out of wedlock. After liberating his country from South Africa, he joined in the struggle to end white-minority rule in South Africa. He did not live to see his dream of a unified Africa materialise, as tribal politics, politicians seeking their own greed and self-interest, foreign business influence, and geopolitics have all stifled this.
Corruption, trying to hold on as the party’s political leader, and his open aggression toward anyone who disagreed with him were some of his shortcomings. This was well illustrated by BBC correspondent Wycliffe Muia, who wrote, “Nujoma was re-elected for two more terms in 1994 and 1999—when he was criticised for having the constitution changed so that he could stand for a third term in office. When criticised for his style of government or questioned about his party’s political past, the wide smile could turn sour. Pointing a finger at whoever dared openly question or criticise, he would sometimes lose his countenance and hurl insults and through the Swapo machinery, he would quite happily exert pressure on the common man to tow the party line and allow the party to delve into government coffers to ensure continued rule.
“Nujoma’s cabinet was often dictated to rather than reaching decisions by joint debate, such was his power. When he stepped down as president in 2005 and as Swapo head in 2007 after serving as the party leader for 47 years —he handed power to his successor, Hifikepunye Pohamba. Even after leaving office, Nujoma still wielded considerable power over the party and government from behind the scenes.”
Up to this day, the Herero and Nama complain they remain marginalised, many still living in remote reservations originally set up by the German colonisers. They feel discriminated against by the Swapo (mainly Ovambo ethnicity) government, which they claimed ingratiated itself to the white Afrikaner for economic gain, ignoring their past atrocities against the Herero and Nama people.
Nujoma had the difficult task of attempting to unite Namibia’s three million people with its 10 different ethnic communities. In 2005, he was granted the official status of “Founding Father of Namibia” and was also bestowed the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize. Visiting Namibia is on my bucket list, not just to witness the highest dunes in the world, but after reading Nujoma’s autobiography, I want to visit the birthplace of this remarkable man.
