HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR PRESIDENT

sam nujoma

Am 12. Mai 2013 feierte Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, Gründungspräsident der Republik Namibia, seinen 84. Geburtstag. Präsident Hifikepunye Pohamba nutzte die Gelegenheit und gratulierte dem Gründungspräsidenten im Namen der gesamten Nation, der SWAPO Führungsriege und SWAPO Mitglieder sowie der anwesenden Gäste herzlich zum Geburtstag.

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NEW ERA, 11 May 2013 - Story by Mvula ya Nangolo

IN 1956 – way back then when one of the now internationally known political icons of Africa got married - without an invitation, like most children in Windhoek’s township at the time, I attended the wedding of one of the most popular ‘Tates.’ I am talking about Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma when he married ‘Sisi’ Kovambo more than five decades ago in what is now referred to in history books as the Old Location – the current Hochland Park suburb in the capital.

A wedding photograph of the first couple shows a clean-shaven young man with an equally, young, beautiful woman in a white bridal gown next to him – those were the Nujomas of yesteryear before some inevitable physical changes occurred.

The change came in exile - the bearded face of Sam Nujoma had been seen at many international political gatherings in various cities and towns around the globe where he rubbed shoulders and shook hands with kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers plus several political personalities and academics interested in the future of Namibia as he sought support, and material and financial aid for the national liberation struggle spearheaded by Swapo.

Most Africans celebrate births, weddings and deaths believe me – but here this time, we are marking the 84th anniversary of the birth of the Founding Father of the Namibian nation who was born on May 12, 1929 at Etunda, a village not very far from Okahao in the then Ongandjera district – now in the Omusati Region.

Who is Dr Sam Nujoma? We all know the general facts that he is the founding president of Swapo, the Commander-in-Chief of Plan, the Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and the first chancellor of the University of Namibia (Unam) and but a rare species indeed – a President who went back to study, this time at the university and finally graduated with a Master’s degree in his favourite field – geology.
 
Professor Lazarus Hangula says in a special publication – ‘The story of an extraordinary Unam Graduand’ –  that when he was asked to take over the affairs of Unam following the assumption of diplomatic duties by the founding Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Katjavivi, that he had worked with Dr Nujoma before but he thought that the man was “a distant person” – only to be proven wrong.
 
 
Professor Hangula discovered that “apart from being a warm-hearted person, he is indeed a statesman who respects protocols, which are very important ingredients in the arena of the ‘Grosse Politik’ he is party to, and where not so much the individual, but the institution that the individual represents, counts.”
 
 
As we celebrate the 84th birthday of this great man who has accepted through the years the sacred responsibility which the Namibian people placed on his strong shoulders, first as president of Swapo and then as the first Head of State, I have through slightly more than a quarter of a century that I have worked with him in exile acquired a lot in my understanding of the Namibian independence question and with much gratitude, I salute you Comrade Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, happy birthday and many more happy returns.
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