Online Reporter
Dr Obert Moses Mpofu
ON 8 February, the iconic Dr Sam Nujoma, a larger than life character and founding President of Namibia who gave his life to the nation that he loved so dearly, breathed his last and bade farewell to this world.
Dr Nujoma was the last of a dying breed. When we mention the great names of African liberators and luminaries who have come and gone such as Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Kwameh Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Kenneth Kaunda, Samora Machel and Robert Mugabe, Dr Nujoma’s name is equally mentioned along with them. These men sacrificed the best years of their lives and even went as far as risking their own lives for Africa’s emancipation.
As a matter of fact, Namibia owes its independence to this towering African giant who became its founding President, for it is he, who ignited the revolution that set Namibia free.
We mourn with the Swapo Party and the people of Namibia during these difficult times. Dr Nujoma held a deep love for the region and worked tirelessly to make the lives of all of us better. Such a great loss is difficult to comprehend and our region will never be the same without him.
The last towering giant against colonialism has left our region with an irrecoverable loss. May the people of Namibia forever cherish the gift of independence that Dr Nujoma and like-minded comrades worked tirelessly to attain.
Zanu-PF and Swapo share an unbreakable bond, one which was forged by Dr Nujoma and our former President, Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe, himself the founding father of our great nation Zimbabwe. These two sister parties and their leadership from the beginning understood very well that they were dealing with the same enemy, that is imperialism, which in our region manifested itself as colonialism, apartheid and settlerism.
In fighting an enemy supported by Western superpowers, unity of purpose among all liberation movements became essential as they all realised that the struggle had to be fought on many fronts that is, militarily, diplomatically as well as on propaganda and information dissemination.
Zanu and Zapu cadres, that is ZANLA and ZPRA, shared training camps with Swapo cadres in Tanzania, Zambia and Angola. This cemented the relationship between our two liberation movements and sister parties and this relationship has been nurtured up to this day.
Dr Nujoma played a pivotal role in leading Swapo in the fight against apartheid, which was one of the most gruesome wars after the invasion of southern Angola by the apartheid South African forces trying to cut-off supply lines of Swapo combatants and prevent them from advancing into southern Namibia.
It took leadership that was defiant and determined to overcome those harsh conditions for the war to continue.
Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, ahead of Namibia and South Africa. While the transitional period had remnants of the Rhodesian regime in the security forces as well as the civil service, Zanu-PF under Cde Mugabe did not hesitate to extend its diplomatic and material support to its brothers in Swapo. During that time, Dr Nujoma became a regular visitor to Harare, consulting with his brother and colleague, Cde Mugabe.
The relationship between Dr Nujoma and Cde Mugabe grew after independence, resulting in Zimbabwe sending senior officials to assist Namibia with training and skilled manpower. In addition, Zimbabwe played a part in ensuring that Swapo was prepared and well-equipped to form the next government through training and education with a number of their cadres being offered opportunities to study in Zimbabwe in various skills.
There can be no denying that Dr Nujoma was a dependable friend, revolutionary and Pan-Africanist of note. He was also a man of his word. When we took over our land during the fast track land reform programme, the West imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe and Dr Nujoma was bold enough to castigate the likes of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and ask if the white settlers had brought any land from England to Zimbabwe.
He was in support of Zimbabwe taking back its land. We will forever cherish how Dr Nujoma stood with the people of Zimbabwe in castigating the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.
It is he and all the other leaders from Southern Africa who stood firm in defence of our revolution at a time when the West wanted us isolated. He would stand his ground in denouncing any suppressive tendencies by the colonialists.
He stood with Palestine, the Sahrawi Republic as well as other such peoples pursuing self-determination as he knew that his own independence without that of others was incomplete.
We are therefore mourning the last of the revolutionary pioneers and founding fathers. As he goes, he closes the door for these luminaries and illustrious sons of Africa and leaves us with a burden of carrying forward their vision and principled stance so that we do not lose the gains of independence.
Through what we have learnt from Dr Nujoma and his compatriots, we will never be dominated again by any imperialist power. The burden to protect the hard-fought freedom we now enjoy as a result of the sacrifices made by the likes of Dr Nujoma now rests squarely on our shoulders.
Comrades and friends, death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
Dr Nujoma was not defeated and thus he will live forever in our memory and we shall all forever enjoy the fruits of his sacrifice.
Dr Obert Moses Mpofu is an academic and the Secretary-General of Zanu-PF. He writes in his own capacity.
