Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema, through the Lusaka City Council, has delivered on his promise to rename two prominent roads in that country’s capital city after Namibia’s late president Hage Geingob and founding president Sam Nujoma.
Hichilema had announced his intentions during Geingob’s memorial service in Windhoek last month. At the time, he said it was to honour and preserve the indomitable work and memory of the two.
In line with Hichilema’s decision, the Lusaka City Council recently finalised the required legal process of gazetting and renaming two significant roads after the late Geingob and Nujoma. A total of 38 councillors of the Lusaka City Council unanimously voted for the Kasama Road to be renamed to Dr Hage Geingob Road, and Shantumbu Road to Dr Sam Nujoma Road.
The two roads are among the key avenues exiting Lusaka for southern-bound traffic, as they also connect to two other districts, namely Chilanga and Kafue.
Kasama Road, now officially known as Dr Hage Geingob Road, connects Chilumbulu Road and crosses the famous Tokyo Way, all the way beyond Apex University to Chilanga and Kafue.
The new Dr Sam Nujoma Road, previously known as Shantumbu Road, connects to many other amenities, including universities and prominent districts.
On the Lusaka City Council’s Facebook page, the city’s mayor Chilando Chitangala said their recent decision was consistent with a resolution passed unanimously by the full council, and followed a consultative meeting with councillors, where the naming proposal was discussed and agreed upon.
The mayor also highlighted the close ties between Zambia and Namibia, noting that late president Geingob had lived in Lusaka for over 17 years, considering it his second home, while Nujoma had spent many years in Lusaka, and was honoured as a ‘Free Man of the City’.
Chitangala clarified that before the official renaming process, Kasama Road and Shantumbu Road were informal names for the two avenues, and were not yet formalised in the Lusaka City Council’s road registry.
But with the renaming now formalised and legalised, both roads will be known as the Dr Hage Geingob Road and Dr Sam Nujoma Road in the council’s road registry.
“The renaming initiative reflects the mutual respect and shared history between the two nations,” noted the mayor.
Botswana memorial
Meanwhile, the Botswana government will next week Wednesday, 13 March, host a commemorative event in honour of the late Geingob, who was laid to rest at Heroes’ Arce on 25 February.
After Geingob’s burial, Botswana’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi indicated that his government would host a commemoration of Geingob’s life, where they will remember and celebrate the relationship the deceased had with Botswana and her people.
“On 13 March, we will host a memorial service in honour of president Geingob at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC). We are going to invite a high-level Namibian representative to speak about Dr Geingob’s legacy and how he related with Botswana, a bond that started with his exile to Francistown in the early 1960s, to strengthening bilateral relations as president of Namibia between 2015 and 2024,” he indicated.
Masisi was the first head of state to visit and offer condolences to the Geingob family and the Namibian people immediately upon the death.
The Botswana government also provided vehicles and motorbikes for use during the memorial service and funeral, and a period of mourning with flags flying half-mast was declared across Botswana then.
-ohembapu@nepc.com.na