IT is with deepest sadness to learn that you, my Comrade and friend, Godfrey Gaoseb, left us – left your family, your friends and your comrades so suddenly. The late Brenda Fassie, MaBrrr’s fitting song, “Soon, and very soon”, explains how painful the loss of someone is. Of course, there is always hope.
In this case, Godfrey Gaoseb, who was a respected member of Namibia’s leadership, part of Swapo Party and part of the birth of a new, independent Namibia, passed on. He was ten years my senior.
But no change of a generation comes without pain. Your passing away, my dear friend Godfrey, is also ringing in the end of a rich, historic era of Namibia, which you were part of.
Dearest Charity Gaoses and family, Nomsa and I would like to humbly express our heartfelt condolences and offer our prayers, so that you find strength in your time of grief in the passing away of a good man, a husband, a father, a brother, a comrade and a friend.
I remember my friend as a good debater and a humble man. He attended the funerals of both my parents at the cemetery of Pioneers Park in Windhoek. Now, he has joined them.
I visited Godfrey and Charity at their home a number of times, enjoying their generous hospitality. They visited me in Johannesburg. We went to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and to a friend’s farm outside the City of Gold, where we enjoyed our drinks and drove through the bush to look at tame rhinos, imported from some zoo in Germany. Goodness, did we laugh a lot. We always had a good time.
Comrade Godfrey, you made your contribution, always showing a sense of humour and a great zest for life. Yes, you enjoyed life. And that was good.
When I called you on Friday afternoon, March 28, 2014, I did not know how to express my condolences, my support and sadness. Hopefully, the following quote from the Old Testament in the good book, the Bible, will help to strengthen you and your family: Isaiah 41, verse 13 says, “For I, Jehovah your God, am grasping your right hand, the One saying to you, ‘Do not be afraid, I myself will help you’.”
You are sorely missed. May your soul rest in eternal peace.
From Udo W. Froese and Nomsa Gaobepe.