WINDHOEK, Namibia — Namibia’s president and founding prime minister Hage Geingob died Sunday at the age of 82 while receiving treatment for cancer, and the southern African nation quickly swore in his deputy to complete his term.
Geingob played a central role in one of Africa’s most stable democracies after returning from a long exile in Botswana and the United States as an anti-apartheid activist. He was the country’s third president since it gained independence in 1990 after more than a century of German rule and then apartheid South Africa.
He had been president since 2015 and was set to complete his second and final term this year. His deputy, Vice President Nangolo Mbumba, was sworn in as acting president in the capital, Windhoek, to complete the term as allowed by the constitution.
Elections are set for November. A government statement said Buba will lead Namibia until March 21 next year, when the winner takes office.
The presidential office said Geingob died at a local hospital with his family by his side. He had returned to Namibia last month from the United States, where he underwent a two-day trial of a “novel treatment for cancer cells”, according to his office. In 2014 he said he had survived prostate cancer.
Soft-spoken but firm in promoting Africa’s agenda as a major stakeholder in world affairs — “the exclusion of Africa from the Security Council is an injustice,” he once said in a United Nations address — Geingob maintained close ties with the US and other Western countries but also, like many African leaders, forged a warm relationship with China and other powers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the leaders who sent condolences on Sunday, saying he would “forever cherish” his memories of meeting Geingob. “It is difficult to overestimate his personal contribution to the development of friendly relations between Namibia and Russia,” a statement said.
Geingob hosted US first lady Jill Biden last year when she visited ahead of an expected trip by her husband to Africa in 2023. That did not materialize.
Namibia, with just over 2.5 million people, is rich in minerals such as diamonds, gold and uranium. Despite being classified as an upper-middle-income country, socioeconomic inequalities are still widespread, according to the World Bank.
The nation on Africa’s southwest coast enjoys political and economic stability in a region that has long seen conflict and contested elections. Namibia’s opposition criticized Geingob last year for authorizing disputed elections in Zimbabwe.
However, opposition leader McHenry Benaani paid tribute on Sunday.
“Indeed, the death of President Geingob is a great loss not only to Namibia, but to the African continent as a whole,” Venaani said. “Such was the caliber of this master negotiator and statesman, a beacon of steady leadership in turbulent times.”
Geingob, who was Namibia’s first prime minister from 1990 to 2002 and served in the same capacity from 2008 to 2012, could speak out on issues at home and abroad. In January, he criticized former colonial power Germany for supporting Israel after South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice accusing it of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Germany cannot morally express its commitment to the UN convention against genocide, including atonement for the genocide in Namibia, while supporting the equivalent of holocaust and genocide in Gaza,” Geingob said.
It referred to events between 1904 and 1908, when colonial security forces in Namibia killed tens of thousands of people in suppressing a rebellion. Germany in 2021 acknowledged that the actions amounted to genocide and pledged over $1 billion for infrastructure projects in the country.
Condolences from African leaders poured in on Sunday.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described Geingob as “a towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid”.
Kenyan President William Ruto said Geingob “strongly promoted the continent’s voice and visibility on the world stage”.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa posted on X that Geingob’s “leadership and resilience will be remembered.”
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Muchaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe.
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