Lahja Nashuuta

Press secretary in the office of the Presidency, Alfredo Hengari has described the late President Hage Geingob as a “perfectionist and a force of nature”, who had high standards and did not entertain sloppy work.

He said Geingob was demanding and showed no tolerance for explanations when the work was not done, or for sloppy work and blame-shifting, which to him demonstrated “the absence of loyalty”. Hengari said this in a tribute speech on behalf of Geingob’s private office in the Presidency, delivered last week at the memorial service held at Casa Rosalia on the outskirts of Windhoek where mourners have been gathering. 

Chronicling his journey as the late president’s spokesperson, he recalled how Geingob would spend hours dwelling on concepts and doctrines such as the Three Waves of African Leadership; Transparency plus Accountability equals Trust; and others. “As part of his deeply-held wish for an inclusive Namibia, President Geingob would emphasise the eradication of tribalism, racism and all other forms of division. An agile multi-tasker, President Geingob would talk about syntax, grammar and why the sentence construction in a text is wrong,” Hengari chronicled.  

He further revealed that with the late president, a State of the Nation Address could go through his hands many times, with questions around arguments, facts and mistakes meticulously underlined.

“For President Geingob, work was not just work, or a heavy burden to carry. It was part of his raison d’etre in service of others. It is why President Geingob worked with so much intensity, and expected those around him to do the same,” he said.

“True, working with him felt as if 90% of our performance did not count much. We only had 10% in which we could get 10 out of 10 to deserve praise. When he had assigned you a task, since he was a fast thinker, you needed to be ready for the follow-up questions. However, when the work was executed properly, he was extremely generous in praise. That is the hallmark of a top leader, a great teacher and affable mentor”, added Hengari.

In addition to the pursuit of excellence, the most valuable lesson Namibians should draw from his life is to care for the weak, the vulnerable, those without a voice, and those without means, Hengari stated. 

 -lnashuuta@gmail.com