SAM Nujoma, a former railway worker who served as Namibia’s president for 15 years after leading the diamond-rich nation’s struggle for independence, has died. He was 95.

Nujoma died on Saturday in the capital Windhoek after he was hospitalized for three weeks for poor health, President Nangolo Mbumba said in a statement.

Nujoma’s South West Africa People’s Organization, or Swapo, fought a 23-year war against South African rule that ended in 1989 when the then-apartheid state agreed to gradually withdraw its occupying troops. Swapo swept to victory in 1990 elections, bringing Nujoma to power.

“Our Founding Father lived a long and consequential life during which he exceptionally served the people of his beloved country,” Mbumba said. He “heroically marshalled the Namibian people during the darkest hours of our liberation struggle until the attainment of freedom and independence.”

Nujoma served three five-year terms, one more than the founding constitution permitted, with Swapo arguing that his first term shouldn’t count toward the limit since he was directly elected to his post. Hifikepunye Pohamba succeeded Nujoma as president in 2005 and as Swapo leader more than two years later.

Subsistence Farmers

The son of subsistence farmers, Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma was born on May 12, 1929, in Etunda village in northwestern Namibia and as a youth helped herd the family’s livestock. After finishing junior school, he went to live with an aunt in the coastal town of Walvis Bay in 1946 and began working in a store the following year. 

Nujoma moved to Windhoek in 1949 and took up a job with South African Railways, while completing his schooling — first by attending night classes and then by correspondence.

He entered full-time politics in 1957 and helped found Swapo three years later with the aim of ending occupation by neighboring South Africa, which had wrested control of the territory from colonial power, Germany, in 1915. South Africa’s command of what was known as South West Africa, was legalized in 1920 by a League of Nations mandate, but was revoked by the United Nations in 1966.

Nujoma was detained for a week in 1959 after helping to organize resistance against forced segregation in Windhoek that culminated in the deaths of 12 protesters. He fled the country for Tanzania before standing trial. 

Armed Campaign

In exile, Nujoma mobilized international support for Namibian independence, and helped secure weapons from Algeria that were used to begin Swapo’s armed campaign in 1966.

In 1976, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing Swapo as the sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people. Two years later the UN adopted resolution 435, which demanded a South African withdrawal.

The White-minority regime defied the resolution and armed conflict dragged on until an April 1989 ceasefire. Nujoma returned from exile five months later to lead Swapo to victory in the UN-supervised elections. 

The white-bearded father figure was sworn in as Namibia’s first president in March 1990 by then-UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar. The ceremony was attended by Nelson Mandela, who had emerged from 27 years in prison the previous month and would become South Africa’s first Black president. 

Healed Rifts

Nujoma’s administration helped heal racial rifts after decades of segregationist rule and increased access to health, education and government services. Today, more than 90% of the adult population is literate and more than 90% of households have access to clean drinking water.

His government was less successful in laying the foundations of an economy that created jobs or narrowing the gap between rich and poor, with income disparities ranking among the highest in the world.

After leaving office, Nujoma set up a charitable foundation bearing his name and largely steered clear of mainstream politics. In 2007, Swapo accorded him the title of the leader of the Namibian Revolution and permanent membership of the party, enabling him to attend meetings of its top structures. In 2015, he and Pohamba established a panel to advise serving presidents. 

Nujoma married Kovambo Katjimune in 1956. They had five children. –BLOOMBERG