WINDHOEK: Thousands of Namibians and dignitaries gathered on Saturday to mourn the country's independence leader, Sam Nujoma, as nearly a month of homage climaxed with a state funeral. Nujoma, the guerrilla leader who won independence for the desert nation from apartheid South Africa, died on February 9, aged 95. Several African leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Angola's Joao Lourenco, Emmerson Mnangagwa from Zimbabwe and foreign officials counting Cuba's parliamentary speaker Esteban Lazo Hernandez attended the burial.
Namibia's President Nangolo Mbumba opened the tributes and called Nujoma "the most distinguished son of the soil". He was a "giant" among leaders, he said of the man who headed the South West People's Organisation (SWAPO) that led the liberation struggle. "You were the ultimate statesman," he said, adding: "May your legacy become a source of strength as we continue to uphold your command of maintaining unity of purpose." Nujoma's black-clad widow did not speak at Saturday's ceremony but in a speech read on her behalf the previous day, she described him as "steadfast, resolute, honest and disciplined." — AFP
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