The president of Namibia, Hage Geingob, passed away, what is his legacy?

Namibian leader Hage Geingob, 82 and undergoing cancer treatment, had been president since 2015 and was set to finish his second and final term this year.

The President, who died surrounded by his family, had returned to Namibia in January from the United States, where he underwent a two-day “novel treatment for cancer cells,” according to his office. In 2014 he had already survived prostate cancer.

During this time he had not stopped directing the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO), which has been at the head of this desert nation since its independence, in 1990, from South Africa from the segregationist apartheid regime. .

Namibia, located on the southwestern coast of Africa, today with just over 2.5 million inhabitants – according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – is rich in diamonds, gold and uranium.

Despite being classified as an upper-middle-income nation, socioeconomic inequalities remain widespread, according to the World Bank, but it enjoys political and economic stability in a region that has long been the scene of conflict, military disputes and contested elections. .

Geingob played a central role in building one of Africa's most stable democracies, after returning from a long exile in Botswana and the United States as an anti-apartheid activist.

Throughout his government he maintained close relations with the United States and other Western countries, but he also, like many African leaders, forged a warm relationship with China, Russia and other powers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the leaders who sent his condolences on Sunday, saying he would carry the memory of his meeting with Geingob “forever.” “It is difficult to overestimate his personal contribution to the development of friendly relations between Namibia and Russia,” he said in a statement.

Likewise, more than a dozen African leaders highlighted Hage Geingob's legacy and contribution to the region.

A life in defense of causes of freedom

The Namibian leader, born in 1941, in the north of the country, in the city of Otjiwarongo, was involved in the struggle for the liberation of Namibia in the sixties, while studying to be a teacher, although he had to submit to the segregationist ideology of the education system. Bantu education, imposed from neighboring South Africa, which imposed deficient training for the black population.

Geingob lived 27 years in exile, spending time in Botswana, the United States and the United Kingdom, the latter country where he studied a doctorate in politics.

The cause of his country's liberation led him to tour Africa and face two assassination attempts by the South African Armed Forces.

His commitment continued in the US where he studied at the Universities of Philadelphia and New York. From there he continued to be part of the then clandestine SWAPO, of the United Nations.

Upon his return to Africa, in 1998, he demonstrated a commitment and a conciliatory nature that allowed him to lead the Constituent Assembly that drafted the new Constitution.

A short-term political legacy

When Geingob became president in 2015, he had already been the longest-serving prime minister: 12 years since 1990 and a shorter period in 2012.

However, the erosion of his popularity was evident. In the 2014 elections she won a large majority, with 87% of the votes. However, five years later, that percentage had fallen to 56%, according to figures from the South African Electoral Commission.

His party, as stated BBC, also faced several corruption scandals during his tenure. Among them, the one known as Fishrotin which ministers and senior officials were accused of accepting bribes in exchange for the granting of lucrative fishing quotas.

After the President of Namibia passed away, Vice President Nangolo Mbumba was sworn in to complete his remaining time in office, as provided for in the Constitution.

According to a government statement, Mbumba will lead Namibia until March 21, 2025, the date on which the winner of the elections will take office, which must be called in November of this year.

This will be followed by the generational change of politics in Namibia, which faces a challenge given the erosion of the population's trust in the authorities, which according to Henning Melber, professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pretoria, in the 2021, to The Conversation, is reflected in the poor legitimacy of the former liberation movement, the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO).

Furthermore, “the new dynamic suggests that the political culture (in Namibia) is damaged. Parliament has witnessed physical disputes, insults and sexist comments,” the academic said.

With AP, EFE and local media