OTJIWARONGO - More than 2 000 inhabitants of the Otjozondjupa region on Wednesday afternoon packed the Mokati Sports Stadium at Otjiwarongo in honour of late president Hage Geingob.

Several speakers at the emotional event recalled the good moments they had with president Geingob at various official occasions, and at his farm situated north of Otavi.

Otjozondjupa governor James Uerikua said if it was not for Geingob who appointed him as governor four years ago, he would still be working as a development planner.

“Because Geingob enjoyed associating with the young people of the country, as well as crafting their mental capabilities, here I am as a young governor serving you with a purpose to represent him in Otjozondjupa,” he observed.

Uerikua stated that Geingob was still a beacon of hope for many young people, who aspired to grow into big political positions.

He then described Geingob, whom he had come to know very well in 2020, as a political architect who shaped Namibia in many ways.

Speakers from the constituencies of Tsumkwe, Grootfontein, Otavi, Okakarara, Omatako and Okahandja in the region also described Geingob as having been a powerful political game-changer and a torch-bearer who championed Namibia’s political independence, democracy and its economic emancipation.

His memorial, which started with a street procession and a convoy of vehicles in Dr Hage Geingob Avenue via Dr Libertina Amathila Street to Mokati Stadium, also attracted Geingob’s close relatives from Otjiwarongo, Otavi and Grootfontein.

The relatives told the gathering that Geingob was born in the Otavi area where he attended primary school, and later grew up in the Grootfontein and Otjiwarongo districts during his youthful days.

Geingob died in a Windhoek hospital on 4 February 2024 at the age of 82. He will be buried at Heroes' Acre on Sunday.

-Nampa