Africa-Press – Botswana. President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi and First Lady Ms Neo Masisi on Sunday morning joined dignitaries from across the world and scores of Namibian citizens in witnessing the burial of the third President of Namibia, Dr Hage Geingob at Heroes Acre in Windhoek, Namibia.
Dr Geingob, who died February 4 aged 82, was laid to rest in a state funeral with the pomp and ceremony of a 21 gun salute, military parade and fly past ceremony, punctuated by a sombre mood of the nation mourning its leader.
Giving the official eulogy, the only address at the burial, the recently inaugurated President of Namibia, Dr Nangolo Mbumba extolled the virtues of his predecessor as a noble leader who left a legacy of extraordinary service to the people of Namibia and Africa.
President Mbumba commended neighbouring states for their expression of solidarity in joining Namibia’s mourning of its leader, through flying of flags half-mast and sending delegations to attend the burial.
During the memorial service held on Saturday, various speakers, including President Masisi, various regional and world leaders as well as Dr Geingob’s predecessors, Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba, described the deceased as a visionary leader.
Namibian opposition leader MacHenry Veenani said despite glaring political differences between them, President Geingob had respected the right of people to hold and express opposing political views and the right of the media to hold governing authorities to account unhindered.
Born on August 3 1941 in Otjiwarongo in the then South West Africa, President Geingob initially trained as a teacher after formal schooling.
Having partook in student activism, Dr Geingob joined the South West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) in 1962.
He was then exiled to Botswana as SWAPO representative based in Francistown, before proceeding for further studies and exile overseas which included a tenure as Director of the United Nations Institute for Namibia.
He then served as SWAPO Director of Elections during the UN supervised first democratic elections in 1989 that preceded Namibian independence in 1990.
Dr Geingob thereafter chaired the Constituent Assembly, the body tasked with drafting the constitution of Namibia, before becoming the country’s first Prime Minister, appointed by founding President Nujoma at independence on 21 March 1990.
He had two terms as Prime Minister, sandwiched in between by a stint as Minister of Trade and Industry before being elected in November 2014 as the President of Namibia, his first term starting early 2015, the second after re-election commencing in 2020.
As he began a final year towards retirement after two terms as President, Dr Geingob was diagnosed with cancer on January 16, shortly before his passing away on February 4.
In an interview , Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Lemogang Kwape, who was part of the President’s delegation in Windhoek said Dr Geingob and President Masisi had developed a good working relationship borne out of a genuine will to strengthen ties between the two neighbours.
He said Botswana and Namibia had deepened diplomatic engagement, upgraded to Bi-National Commission level, and were working on fast-tracking the planning of the Trans-Kalahari Railway as well as exploring the use of the dry port at Walvis Bay, in addition to the already implemented use of identity documents for travel between the two states.
As such, Dr Kwape said Botswana would remember Dr Geingob as a neighbour and friend under whose leadership the two countries’ bilateral relations blossomed.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
