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Namibia: Namibia’s President Hage Geingob is dead

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Namibia
Namibia’s President Hage Geingob is dead

Namibia’s President Hage Gottfried Geingob was 82 years old. photo

© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Hage Geingob was once revered as a brilliant thinker and one of the founding fathers of independent Namibia. But his fame steadily faded during his presidency.

Namibia’s President Hage Gottfried Geingob is dead. The statesman, who once fought for social justice but failed to keep his promises for economic development, died early Sunday morning at the age of 82 in a hospital in Windhoek, as did incumbent President Nangolo Mbumba on the platform X, formerly Twitter, announced. Geingob’s wife Monica and his children were at his side.

Born on August 3, 1941 in the rural town of Otjiwarongo in what was then South West Africa, Geingob initially began training as a teacher. In the 1960s, he joined the liberation movement to free his country from foreign administration by neighboring South Africa, which was then run by the racist apartheid government. Geingob became a member of the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), which later violently pursued its goal of independence with military support from the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Geingob initially acted as SWAPO’s deputy in Botswana and was appointed SWAPO representative to the United Nations in New York in 1964, where he simultaneously studied political science at renowned US universities. When the UN Institute for Namibia was founded in 1975, Geingob became its director, a position he held until his return to his African homeland in 1989. Geingob was one of the leading figures in his party and played a crucial role until Namibia’s independence in 1990. Among other things, he was one of the main authors of the country’s new constitution.

Commitment to reconciliation

As the first prime minister of independent Namibia – under the presidency of Sam Nujoma – Geingob campaigned for reconciliation and reconstruction of the former German colony (1884 – 1915) with 2.6 million inhabitants. After a stint as industry and trade minister, Geingob became prime minister for the second time in 2012. In November 2014, Namibians elected him president by a large majority and confirmed him for a second term five years later.

Geingob was considered a brilliant thinker and accomplished rhetorician who fought for the rights of the oppressed. His vision of a united and economically strong Namibia made him a respected head of state, both within the country and at the international level, especially during his first term in office. One of Geingob’s most important political achievements is the establishment of a public service in Namibia. Conservation and eco-tourism were also high on Geingob’s political agenda.

However, during his second term, for which he narrowly received a majority of votes, Geingob lost public reputation. One of the reasons for the sharp decline in trust was his inability to put a stop to mismanagement and unemployment. His lavish lifestyle, his inability to accept criticism, and his increasing political cooperation with China also sparked popular discontent. In 2021, Geingob faced serious corruption allegations of his own: He was accused of embezzling millions of dollars by allegedly instructing government officials to divert funds from a state-owned fishing company for political bribes. However, the results of the investigation are still pending today.