Sam Nujoma, Namibia’s fiery freedom fighter and first president, dies aged 95

WINDHOEK, Namibia — Sam Nujoma, the fiery freedom fighter who led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years, and was known as the father of the nation, has died. He was 95.

Nujoma’s death was announced Sunday by current Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba. Mbumba said Nujoma died on Saturday night after being hospitalized in the capital, Windhoek.

“The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken,” Mbumba said in a statement. “Over the past three weeks, the Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and Founding Father of the Namibian Nation was hospitalized for medical treatment and medical observation due to ill health.”

“Unfortunately, this time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness,” Mbumba added.

Nujoma was revered in his homeland as a charismatic father figure who steered his country to democracy and stability after long colonial rule by Germany and a bitter war of independence from South Africa. He spent nearly 30 years in exile as the leader of its independence movement before returning to be elected his country’s first democratic leader in 1990.

Nujoma, with his trademark white beard, was the last of a generation of African leaders who brought their countries out of colonial or white minority rule that included South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda and Mozambique’s Samora Machel.

Many Namibians credited Nujoma’s leadership for the process of national healing and reconciliation after the deep divisions caused by the independence war and South Africa’s policies of dividing the country into ethnically based regional governments, with separate education and health care for each race.

Even his political opponents praised Nujoma — who was branded a Marxist and accused of ruthless suppression of dissent while in exile — for establishing a democratic Constitution and involving white businessmen and politicians in government after independence.

Despite his pragmatism and nation-building at home, Nujoma often hit foreign headlines for his fierce anti-Western rhetoric. He claimed AIDS was a man-made biological weapon and also occasionally waged a verbal war on homosexuality, calling gays “idiots” and branding homosexuality a “foreign and corrupt ideology.”

Nujoma built ties with North Korea, Cuba, Russia and China, some of which had supported Namibia’s liberation movement by providing arms and training.

But he balanced that with outreach to the West, and Nujoma was the first African leader to be hosted at the White House by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1993. Clinton called Nujoma “the George Washington of his country” and “a genuine hero of the world’s movement toward democracy.”

Nujoma grew up in a rural, impoverished family, the eldest of 11 children. His early life revolved around looking after his parents’ cattle and the cultivation of land. He attended a mission school before moving to Windhoek and working for South African Railways.

He was arrested following a political protest in 1959 and fled the territory shortly after his release. In exile, he helped establish the South West African People’s Organization and was named its president in 1960. SWAPO has been Namibia’s ruling party since 1990.

When South Africa refused to heed a 1966 U.N. resolution ending its mandate over the former German colony of South West Africa, Nujoma launched SWAPO’s guerrilla campaign.

“We started the armed struggle with only two sub-machine guns and two pistols,” Nujoma once said. “I got them from Algeria, plus some rounds of ammunition.”

 

Judge seeks sworn declaration from Justice Department in deportation case

At issue was whether plane-loads of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang were deported despite the judge's order to turn the planes around.

Pentagon website removes, then restores, page honoring Black Medal of Honor recipient

Charles C. Rogers was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon in 1970. But a profile of the Vietnam War veteran was caught in an "auto removal process," the Defense Department says.

Navy warship is sent to the southern border to carry out Trump’s immigration plans

Capable of holding over 300 crew members and larger than any Coast Guard vessel, the USS Gravely has been assigned to help tighten border security, operating on both domestic and international waters.

Residents pick up the pieces after devastating storms

The three-day outbreak of severe weather across seven states, including Alabama, kicked up a devastating combination of wildfires, dust storms and tornadoes, claiming at least 42 lives since Friday.

What Russia and Ukraine want out of talks, as Trump speaks to Putin Tuesday

President Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as the U.S. pursues a ceasefire deal in Ukraine.

Trump blames Iran for Houthi attacks on shipping after U.S. strikes in Yemen

Trump blames Iran for Houthi attacks on international shipping

More Front Page Coverage