WINDHOEK- //Karas Regional Governor Bernadus ‘Clinton’ Swartbooi said he was among the last people to see Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy Willem Isaacks alive.
Isaacks, whom Swartbooi described as a trusted cadre of the ruling party Swapo, died last week Wednesday in the Keetmanshoop State Hospital due to serious internal injuries sustained after a car he was driving overturned near Keetmanshoop.
Swartbooi was among the first people to arrive at the hospital and, as fate would have it, witness the last living moment of the deputy minister.
“When we were receiving him at the hospital, I went in the room where they were treating him,” recalled the governor.
“He looked at me and said there was nothing strange about the accident. And then he said I must call [Mines and Energy] Minister Isak Katali. We thought he would survive,” Swartbooi noted.
“The shock is still with us,” the country’s youngest regional governor said.
“He was a down to earth person. He was approachable which made it easy to share ideas and opinions with him. He was a product of Swapo. He was a trusted cadre on matters of the party.”
It is alleged that Isaacks who was alone in the car lost control of the government Toyota Hilux double cab with registration number 4530. He was 45 years old.
Swartbooi wished the bereaved family strength during this difficult time, especially Isaacks’ wife who is a student nurse in Keetmanshoop.
The accident occurred some 40 kilometres north of Keetmanshoop between 15h00 and 15h30.
“He lost control of the vehicle and it overturned. He was coming from the side of Tses on his way to Keetmanshoop,” the //Karas Regional Crime Investigations Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Rudolf Isaak told New Era.
This was the third car accident involving the deputy minister. In September 2011 the car he was driving crashed on the gravel road to Koës, killing a seven-year-old boy, Alwara Esterhuisen.
In that accident, the deputy minister broke an ankle and suffered minor hand and head injuries.
During April last year, Isaacks also overturned a government Toyota double-cab bakkie after he lost control when he allegedly swerved to avoid a pool of rain water in the road.
Isaacks was born on July 31 1969 at Tses village in Berseba constituency in //Karas Region.
He started his primary school at Gainachas in 1976, and proceeded to Berseba for Junior Secondary School and J A Nel Senior Secondary School where he completed Standard 10 in 1988.
He was one of the students who supported Nanso during the apartheid years.
He supported Swapo to rise up against Bantu education and Afrikaans being taught at school, and as a result he was expelled from school with other pupils.
However, the expulsion did not stop him from furtherance of his political career for the benefit of the Namibia liberation struggle.
He worked as a messenger at Unicef in 1995 – 1996. In 1997 he returned to Berseba where he started mobilising the masses on the activities of Swapo structures in the Berseba district.
He was elected as Swapo branch coordinator for the Dawid Christiaan Goliath branch in 1997 – 1998.
He served as a Swapo local authority councillor at Berseba Village Council, and as its chairman.
He was elected district coordinator and served in this position until 2007, when he was elected to the position of Swapo regional coordinator for //Karas Region.
He was one of the 10 candidates nominated by President Hifikepunye Pohamba to parliament during the 2009 Swapo Party electoral college.