President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences to the people and government of Namibia following the passing of former President Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma.
Nujoma passed away this weekend at the age of 95.
The President further expressed sympathies to the former Namibian President’s family.
“As neighbours and compatriots, South Africa is united in grief with Namibians who have lost the leader of the Namibian revolution, who is inseparable from our own history of struggle and liberation,” said President Ramaphosa.
Nujoma was an anti-Apartheid activist and was elected Namibia’s founding president after the country gained independence from Apartheid South Africa.
“Dr Sam Nujoma was an extraordinary freedom fighter who divided his revolutionary programme between Namibia’s own struggle against South African colonialism and the liberation of South Africa from apartheid.
“In exile and on home soil, he led the Ovambo People’s Organisation, the South West Africa People’s Organisation and the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia against the seemingly unshakeable might of colonial and apartheid authorities and forces.
“Sam Nujoma inspired the Namibian people to pride and resistance that belied the size of the population. Namibia’s attainment of independence from South Africa in 1990 ignited in us the inevitability of our own liberation,” President Ramaphosa said.
Furthermore, the former President’s actions as leader of South Africa’s neighbour paved the way for relations between the two countries.
“President Nujoma’s leadership of a free Namibia laid the foundation for the solidarity and partnership our two countries share today – a partnership we will continue to deepen as neighbours and friends.
“We are grateful for the extended lifetime with which Dr Sam Nujoma was blessed and we are grateful for the manner in which he dedicated the many decades of his life to serving his nation.
“May his soul rest in peace and may our neighbours find healing in his legacy,” President Ramaphosa concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
