Today marks the end of an era as Founding President Sam Nujoma makes his final public appearance.
Mourners, united by a shared sense of grief and celebration, will accompany him to Heroes Acre, high on the hilltop outside of Windhoek, where he will be laid to rest tomorrow.
In honouring his legacy, we republish a condensed version of our April 2024 article titled ‘A Tale of Three Presidents.’
The article explored the distinct qualities and leadership styles of the three presidents who have led Namibia since Independence, focusing on the profound impact each had on the nation’s journey.
From Nujoma, who had the mammoth task of uniting a nation fresh from a bitter bush war, to the gentle giant Hifikepunye Pohamba, who is credited with stabilising the country’s hard-earned peace and unity, to the towering Hage Geingob, whose presidency was marked by his favourite catchphrase of strong systems, institutions and processes, Namibia has witnessed a mixed bag of presidencies over the past three decades.
Each presidency had its distinct characteristics, hits and misses. In so doing, experts with an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of Namibian politics, the three presidents, and the political and economic environment and political circumstances that characterised their tenures provided their inputs.
The experts also delved into key policies overseen or driven by the presidents or governments [social climate and gains]; their characters as individuals; and how the presidents could resonate with ordinary citizens who catapulted them to the highest office in the land.
Nujoma presidency
Political scientist Rui Tyitende said Nujoma confronted the most tumultuous climate in Namibia’s political landscape at the dawn of independence in 1990. He led a country that had just emerged from a divisive and brutal apartheid regime. Nujoma had to unite former warring foes. “More so was the fact that there were warring factions across the political spectrum that were determined to galvanise their respective constituencies for their own nefarious aims. The politics of reconciliation that Nujoma preached seemed to have starved off the imminent threat of political instability or violence,” Tyitende said.
His analysis was echoed by lawyer Natjirikasorua Tjirera.
“They had the same ideological outlook on issues and were primarily guided by their desire to appease Swapo. Truth be told, Swapo found a functional state in place and the first president had a smooth sailing into office. The economy of the country faced a significant challenge from corruption,” Tjirera said.
However, like Tyitende, political pundit Ndumba Kamwanyah said a mammoth task lay ahead for Nujoma at independence. He hastened to say the three leaders had their distinct approaches to leadership, demeanours and strategic functioning in dealing with national questions and structural issues that have confronted the country over the years.
“Although all three made some important strategic choices, overall, Namibia lacks strategic leadership that clearly understands what’s wrong with our society and how to remedy the situation. Nujoma’s strategic choice is probably the policy of national reconciliation. This was important and necessary because he took over a country just emerging from bitter war and divisions,” Kamwanyah said. Haunted legacy
While Nujoma remains Namibia’s most charismatic leader, according to Tyitende, questions still linger about his leadership.
“A good number of people still want answers as to what happened to their loved ones during the dark days when people mysteriously disappeared, others being tortured, maimed, and killed. That remains a chapter we will have to open for positive peace to prevail,” he said.
What is more, the biggest flaw in Nujoma’s administration was its clandestine acceptance of the jobs-for-comrades call, which came back to haunt the nation, Tjirera charged. “President Nujoma’s appointment of a Swapo secretary general as minister without portfolio to enable Swapo functionaries to operate at the state’s expense was something that was not in line with national interests,” the lawyer said.
Social progression
At the social and economic level, the government had, during Nujoma’s era, embarked upon numerous reforms and policies to ensure past imbalances were addressed.
“Such policies resulted in a good number of black Namibians entering the formal school system and tertiary institutions producing black graduates in the pursuit of economic development for the majority. Despite these progressive changes, economic benefits largely benefitted mostly those who were close to the corridors of power, and state institutions that were meant to counter corruption and malfeasance were mildly greased to ensure their efficiency and effectiveness,” Tyitende said.
Moreover, the City Savings Bank debacle and the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF)’s N$650 million scandal and a litany of other commercial crimes – all of which took place under Nujoma’s watch – did not result in the demise of the prominent perpetrators, the political scientist lamented.
“In some cases, they were rewarded with upward mobility in the political arena. Notwithstanding these challenges, progressive policies such as rural electrification and the development of the country’s road network are things we should commend the first president for,” Tyitende said, before rating Nujoma’s presidency at 6/10.
Pohamba presidency
From the trio, a commonality could be deduced when it comes to the Pohamba presidency. “Their demeanours were different. Whereas Nujoma appeared to be the man in charge of this country and party, President Pohamba was perceived as Nujoma’s proxy. This was because there is great belief that he was handpicked by Nujoma to fend off the presidential ambitions of late Hidipo Hamutenya,” Tjirera stated.
These sentiments were echoed by Tyitende. “In short, he never wanted to be president. He was a victim of circumstances [Swapo factions] that propelled him into the presidency of the country. The results of the Swapo congress in 2004 disadvantaged him politically as he could not step out of the shadow of Founding President Sam Nujoma, who has always been portrayed as a visionary, powerful, and charismatic leader of the Namibian revolution,” said Tyitende.
For him, Pohamba had no pretensions to be an intellectual. “Having been our CEO for 10 years, it is very difficult to find the archaeology of Pohamba. In other words, most of the government’s plans and programmes, such as the construction of regional feeder roads, upgrading of ports, and rural electrification, emanated before he became president,” Tyitende noted.
In the Southern Af rican Development Community (SADC) context, Pohamba was highly respected for his mediation efforts in Lesotho and Madagascar, Tyitende credited. This, he said, was “mostly so because of his personality, which enabled him to inculcate a culture of trust and cooperation among conflicting parties. Sadly, we never gave him credit for those accomplishments.”
The creation of the Veterans’ Affairs ministry will also go down as one of Pohamba’s chief achievements, he added. Whereas Nujoma is credited with uniting a divided nation, Kamwanyah said Pohamba’s legacy will be remembered for advancing economic initiatives.
“Pohamba is a person who listens attentively and actively. He is very approachable. The strategic choice he made in terms of leadership was on the economic initiatives to address challenges facing Namibia [at the time]. One of those initiatives is the TIPEEG that he implemented to address the unemployment issue in the country. It was a very good and concrete initiative, but he did not pay attention because he left everything [implementation] to his team, the ministers. As a result, TIPEEG ended up failing because its implementation was completely wrong, and people started looting,” Kamwanyah reasoned.
Geingob presidency
With an 87% approval rating at the ballot in 2014, Geingob was by far the most popular president among the three leaders, the analysts opined. “Geingob was, however, the flamboyant president who exhibited a high degree of perceived arrogance. Despite his perceived arrogance, he was the one more engaged with the greater public. He was the people’s president,” Tjirera said.
It is further his assertion that those closer to the corridors of power benefitted greatly from the country’s opulence, at the expense of the greater populace.
“Rating them, I would personally say that they dismally failed the motherland because of their policies. Their allegiance to Swapo was more than their allegiance to the motherland, and because of that, their policies were not driven by the greater interest of the motherland. Their collective desire to create a select group of wealthy individuals at the expense of the nation made their respective presidencies not very successful,” Tjirera opined.
He had a justification for the tie between Nujoma and Geingob. “Despite rating Geingob and Nujoma the same, I would say Geingob’s presidency was better. He had a clearer vision for the country, was more tolerant of divergent opinions, and respected the institutions of the state more,” Tjirera justified.
Systems, processes, institutions
Meanwhile, Geingob had a mixed legacy. It can be characterised as over-promising and under-delivering, Tyitende stated. “Even though he hails from a generation of the ‘first struggle,’ his political and career journey is different from that of his predecessors, – Presidents Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba,” he said before delving deeper into the Geingob presidency.
However, the safety nets tremendously benefitted old people, orphans, vulnerable children, and people with disabilities under Geingob. “In contrast with his predecessors, he was easy-going and inviting and often open to people. He held community meetings across the country to listen to the public’s concerns and invited opposition politicians to meetings at State House. He would dance at political rallies and attend soccer matches,” Tyitende recalls.
During his funeral in February last year, speaker after speaker described Geingob as ‘the people’s president’ and credited him with playing a pivotal role in laying Namibia’s lauded governance architecture, or rather “systems, processes, and institutions,” as he would eloquently call them.
“As an individual, I think there’s no equal to Geingob in terms of his character, his persona, his ideals – that zest of life within him,” Tyitende noted. Geingob died on 4 February 2024. He was 82.
Ambition
Similarly, Kamwanyah believes Geingob dared to dream and envisioned a prosperous Namibia.
“He came in with a lot of expectations from Namibian people, and that was demonstrated by the high number of voters he got as a presidential candidate for his first term,” he recalled.
Kamwanyah also highlighted Geingob’s signature prosperity plans — HPP1 and HPP2.
“It was a good initiative, although I feel he did not articulate it clearly in relation to other existing plans, like the NDPs and Vision 2030,” he said. He added: “As a technocrat, Geingob tried to lead the country at a technical level. That’s why he came up with advisors [A-Team], whom he needed for various issues, including economics and youth-related matters.” He rated Geingob the highest among the trio. “His emphasis was on institutions, processes, and systems, although I feel the institutions, processes, and systems failed him because they were implemented by people, and people have their own agendas. That’s what happened with the Fishrot scandal. His over-reliance on institutions, processes, and systems to some extent made him a little bit weak, although I think his focus on building those institutions, processes, and systems was good,” he said.
Anti-corruption
Tjirera further says it was under Geingob’s tenure that the anti-graft fight reached new heights. “Corruption has been a part of the ruling party and its operatives in government across all three presidents. But it was only during the time of President Geingob that prominent political figures were held to account for their misdeeds,” he said. “The fact that prominent political leaders, who were deemed to be on Hage’s side faced the law, speaks volumes to his determination to fight corruption and to allow the courts to operate without fear or favour. The independence of the judiciary was under its severest threat during President Nujoma’s time. He and other prominent political leaders would show contempt for the judiciary if judgements went against them,” Tjirera said. – emumbuu@nepc.com.na