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Sam Nujoma, Namibia's fiery freedom fighter and first president, dies aged 95

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Sam Nujoma, Namibia's fiery freedom fighter and first president, dies aged 95
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Sam Nujoma, Namibia's fiery freedom fighter and first president, dies aged 95

2025-02-09 19:44 Last Updated At:19:50

OSHAKATI, Namibia (AP) — Sam Nujoma, the fiery, white-bearded freedom fighter who led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years, coming to be known as the father of his nation, has died. He was 95.

Nujoma's death was announced Sunday by current Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba, who said Nujoma died on Saturday night after being hospitalized in the capital, Windhoek.

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FILE - South African President F.W. de Klerk delivers his speech in Windhoek, Namibia, March 21, 1990, where he handed over Namibia to Namibian President Sam Nujoma, seated left, during an independence ceremony. (AP Photo/John Parkin, File)

FILE - South African President F.W. de Klerk delivers his speech in Windhoek, Namibia, March 21, 1990, where he handed over Namibia to Namibian President Sam Nujoma, seated left, during an independence ceremony. (AP Photo/John Parkin, File)

FILE - Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, hugs Namibian President Sam Nujoma during an official welcome ceremony in the state council in Havana, Cuba, June 23, 2004. (Sven Creutzmann/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, hugs Namibian President Sam Nujoma during an official welcome ceremony in the state council in Havana, Cuba, June 23, 2004. (Sven Creutzmann/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Namibian President Sam Nujoma, right, casts his vote as an unidentified election worker looks on during the Day 1 of the 2004 elections in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 15, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - Namibian President Sam Nujoma, right, casts his vote as an unidentified election worker looks on during the Day 1 of the 2004 elections in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 15, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - South African President Nelson Mandela, right, shakes hands with Namibian President Sam Nujoma at the presidential residence in Pretoria, South Africa, June 1, 1999, on the eve of the country's second all-race elections. (AP Photo/Jean-Marc Bouju, File)

FILE - South African President Nelson Mandela, right, shakes hands with Namibian President Sam Nujoma at the presidential residence in Pretoria, South Africa, June 1, 1999, on the eve of the country's second all-race elections. (AP Photo/Jean-Marc Bouju, File)

FILE - Namibian and ruling Swapo party President Sam Nujoma speaks during an election rally in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 13, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - Namibian and ruling Swapo party President Sam Nujoma speaks during an election rally in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 13, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

"The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken," Mbumba said in a statement. “Over the past three weeks, the Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and Founding Father of the Namibian Nation was hospitalized for medical treatment and medical observation due to ill health."

"Unfortunately, this time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness," Mbumba added. He said Nujoma “marshalled the Namibian people during the darkest hours of our liberation struggle.”

Nujoma was the last of a generation of African leaders who brought their countries out of colonial or white minority rule that included South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and Mozambique’s Samora Machel.

He was revered in his arid, sparsely populated homeland in southwest Africa as a charismatic father figure who steered it to democracy and stability after long colonial rule by Germany and a bitter war of independence from South Africa.

He spent nearly 30 years in exile as the leader of Namibia's independence movement before returning for Parliamentary elections in late 1989, the first democratic vote in the country. He was elected president by lawmakers months later in 1990 as Namibia's independence was confirmed.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Nujoma led Namibia's independence movement “against the seemingly unshakeable might of colonial and apartheid authorities and forces” and spurred the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa on its own final steps to freedom.

“Sam Nujoma inspired the Namibian people to pride and resistance that belied the size of the population,” Ramaphosa said. “Namibia’s attainment of independence from South Africa in 1990 ignited in us the inevitability of our own liberation.”

Many Namibians also credited Nujoma's leadership for the process of national reconciliation after the deep divisions caused by the independence war and South Africa's policies of dividing the country into ethnically based regional governments, with separate education and health care for each race.

Even political opponents praised Nujoma — who was branded a Marxist and accused of ruthless suppression of dissent while in exile — for establishing a democratic Constitution and involving white businessmen and politicians in government after independence.

Despite his pragmatism and nation-building at home, Nujoma often hit foreign headlines for his fierce anti-Western rhetoric. At a United Nations conference in Geneva in 2000, Nujoma stunned delegates when he claimed AIDS was a man-made biological weapon. He also occasionally waged a verbal war on homosexuality, calling gays “idiots” and branding homosexuality a “foreign and corrupt ideology.”

He once banned all foreign television programs, declaring they had corrupted the youth of Namibia.

Nujoma built ties with North Korea, Cuba, Russia and China, some of which had supported Namibia's liberation movement by providing arms and training.

But he balanced that with outreach to the West, and Nujoma was the first African leader to be hosted at the White House by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1993. Clinton called Nujoma “the George Washington of his country” and “a genuine hero of the world’s movement toward democracy.”

Nujoma also advocated for the advancement of women in a largely patriarchal region, saying “there is no shortage of competent and experienced African women to lead the way forward.” Namibia elected its first female president last year and President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's term is due to start next month.

Nujoma grew up in a rural, impoverished family, the eldest of 11 children. His early life revolved around looking after cattle and the cultivation of land. He attended a mission school and worked in a general store and then a whaling station on the coast, before a job in Windhoek as a cleaner for South African Railways.

He was arrested following a political protest in 1959 and fled the territory shortly after his release to go into exile in Tanzania. There, he helped establish the South West African People’s Organization and was named its president in 1960. SWAPO has been Namibia's ruling party since 1990, and Nujoma ultimately led it for 47 years until stepping down in 2007.

When South Africa refused to heed a 1966 U.N. resolution ending the mandate it had been given over the German colony of South West Africa after World War I, Nujoma launched SWAPO’s guerrilla campaign.

“We started the armed struggle with only two sub-machine guns and two pistols,” Nujoma once said. “I got them from Algeria, plus some rounds of ammunition.”

SWAPO never achieved military victory in an independence war that lasted more than 20 years, but Nujoma won wide political support during his exile, leading to the U.N. declaring SWAPO the sole representative of the Namibian people and South Africa ultimately withdrawing from the country.

As he mixed with world leaders, Nujoma was aware of his humble roots and lack of education. After leaving school early to work, he later attended night school, largely to improve his English. He said he dedicated his life to his country's liberation.

“Others got their education while I led the struggle,” he said.

Mutsaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe, and Imray from Cape Town, South Africa.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

FILE - South African President F.W. de Klerk delivers his speech in Windhoek, Namibia, March 21, 1990, where he handed over Namibia to Namibian President Sam Nujoma, seated left, during an independence ceremony. (AP Photo/John Parkin, File)

FILE - South African President F.W. de Klerk delivers his speech in Windhoek, Namibia, March 21, 1990, where he handed over Namibia to Namibian President Sam Nujoma, seated left, during an independence ceremony. (AP Photo/John Parkin, File)

FILE - Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, hugs Namibian President Sam Nujoma during an official welcome ceremony in the state council in Havana, Cuba, June 23, 2004. (Sven Creutzmann/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Cuban President Fidel Castro, left, hugs Namibian President Sam Nujoma during an official welcome ceremony in the state council in Havana, Cuba, June 23, 2004. (Sven Creutzmann/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Namibian President Sam Nujoma, right, casts his vote as an unidentified election worker looks on during the Day 1 of the 2004 elections in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 15, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - Namibian President Sam Nujoma, right, casts his vote as an unidentified election worker looks on during the Day 1 of the 2004 elections in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 15, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - South African President Nelson Mandela, right, shakes hands with Namibian President Sam Nujoma at the presidential residence in Pretoria, South Africa, June 1, 1999, on the eve of the country's second all-race elections. (AP Photo/Jean-Marc Bouju, File)

FILE - South African President Nelson Mandela, right, shakes hands with Namibian President Sam Nujoma at the presidential residence in Pretoria, South Africa, June 1, 1999, on the eve of the country's second all-race elections. (AP Photo/Jean-Marc Bouju, File)

FILE - Namibian and ruling Swapo party President Sam Nujoma speaks during an election rally in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 13, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - Namibian and ruling Swapo party President Sam Nujoma speaks during an election rally in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 13, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

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Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) cunte part of the net to celebrate victory over Tennessee after an NCAA college basketball game in the final round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Lakers Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent (7) saves the ball from going out of bounds during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Lakers Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent (7) saves the ball from going out of bounds during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Virginia Commonwealth forward Christian Fermin celebrates after an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Atlantic 10 tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Virginia Commonwealth forward Christian Fermin celebrates after an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Atlantic 10 tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

A girl sweeps the street outside her family's home as other children play in a poor neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A girl sweeps the street outside her family's home as other children play in a poor neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro gestures to the crowd upon arriving at a rally on Copacabana Beach in support of a proposed bill to grant amnesty to those arrested for storming government buildings in an alleged coup attempt in 2023, in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro gestures to the crowd upon arriving at a rally on Copacabana Beach in support of a proposed bill to grant amnesty to those arrested for storming government buildings in an alleged coup attempt in 2023, in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

People shine lights behind coloured papers attempting to make a heart shape during a pro-European rally, joined by thousands, to counter what the organizers described as a "wave of sovereignism and ultranationalism", outside the government headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

People shine lights behind coloured papers attempting to make a heart shape during a pro-European rally, joined by thousands, to counter what the organizers described as a "wave of sovereignism and ultranationalism", outside the government headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

An aerial photograph shows the damaged roof of a nightclub in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, following a massive fire in the nightclub early Sunday. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

An aerial photograph shows the damaged roof of a nightclub in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, following a massive fire in the nightclub early Sunday. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Relatives and survivors walk outside a hospital in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, following a massive fire in the nightclub early Sunday. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Relatives and survivors walk outside a hospital in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Sunday, March 16, 2025, following a massive fire in the nightclub early Sunday. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Tango dancers perform for Pope Francis outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, March 16, 2025, where he is being treated for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Tango dancers perform for Pope Francis outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, March 16, 2025, where he is being treated for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The Irish Guards' Mascot dog Turlough Mor, awaits the visit of Britain's Kate, the Princess of Wales, at a special St Patrick's Day parade and celebration at Wellington Barracks in London, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The Irish Guards' Mascot dog Turlough Mor, awaits the visit of Britain's Kate, the Princess of Wales, at a special St Patrick's Day parade and celebration at Wellington Barracks in London, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Palestinian wait get donated food at a distribution center in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian wait get donated food at a distribution center in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Dragi Stojanov cries holding a photograph of his son Tomche Stojanov, one of the victims of a massive nightclub fire, during a vigil joined by hundreds in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Dragi Stojanov cries holding a photograph of his son Tomche Stojanov, one of the victims of a massive nightclub fire, during a vigil joined by hundreds in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pilots a U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat Small with the Maritime Security Response Team, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pilots a U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat Small with the Maritime Security Response Team, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Emily Armstrong, left, and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park arrive at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, Monday, March 17, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Emily Armstrong, left, and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park arrive at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, Monday, March 17, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki holds on to his broken bat after grounding out in the first inning of an MLB Japan Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki holds on to his broken bat after grounding out in the first inning of an MLB Japan Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Graves for the victims of a massive nightclub fire are dug with excavators in a cemetery in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Graves for the victims of a massive nightclub fire are dug with excavators in a cemetery in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

A woman reacts over the body of a person killed during overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A woman reacts over the body of a person killed during overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

A model sunbathes backstage at Moscow Fashion Week in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

A model sunbathes backstage at Moscow Fashion Week in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Brandon Graham cries during a news conference announcing his retirement, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at the Philadelphia Eagles' NFL football training facility in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Brandon Graham cries during a news conference announcing his retirement, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at the Philadelphia Eagles' NFL football training facility in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Real Madrid's Athenea del Castillo , centre, celebrates with Real Madrid's captain Olga Carmona, right, after scoring her side's second goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Arsenal at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Fran Berg)

Real Madrid's Athenea del Castillo , centre, celebrates with Real Madrid's captain Olga Carmona, right, after scoring her side's second goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Arsenal at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Fran Berg)

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, right, celebrates after scoring as Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter runs by during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, right, celebrates after scoring as Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter runs by during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Montreal Canadiens' Josh Anderson (17) gets mobbed by by teammates on the bench after his empty net goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators, in Montreal on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Josh Anderson (17) gets mobbed by by teammates on the bench after his empty net goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators, in Montreal on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

A couple hugs in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A couple hugs in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Villagers cheer while watching a NASA live stream as they gather to pray for the safe return of NASA astronaut Suni Williams, also known as Sunita Williams, from the International Space Station (ISS), at a temple in her ancestral village Jhulasan in Mehsana district of Gujarat state, India, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Villagers cheer while watching a NASA live stream as they gather to pray for the safe return of NASA astronaut Suni Williams, also known as Sunita Williams, from the International Space Station (ISS), at a temple in her ancestral village Jhulasan in Mehsana district of Gujarat state, India, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Relatives of hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, attempt to approach the Gaza border, escorted by Israeli soldiers, calling for their release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Relatives of hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, attempt to approach the Gaza border, escorted by Israeli soldiers, calling for their release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An injured man is taken to the Al-Ahli hospital following overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi).

An injured man is taken to the Al-Ahli hospital following overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi).

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