Fellow mourners,
It is with heavy hearts that we gather here today to bid farewell to my father and pay tribute to Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, founding president and father of the Namibian nation, who left us on 8 February, surrounded by the family.
Although we were aware that our father was frail due to his advanced age, and knew about his condition, one is never prepared to hear the sad news of the death of a person who is closer to our hearts. Indeed, for those of us who knew him, who worked alongside him, who counted and relied on him, who were led by him, who learned from him, who loved him, it is unbearable that we will not see him again.
The last six months were difficult for my family and I, but we remained optimistic as he had an indomitable spirit, despite his poor health. Sadly, on Saturday, 8 February, he took his final breath and ended his journey here on earth. We thank God for his life.
Against this background, the death of our father came as a great shock, and even today we feel its weight upon us as a cloud of sadness has descended upon our family.
In this regard, we are deeply grateful to the government of Namibia, under the leadership of president Nangolo Mbumba, for conferring a befitting state funeral of a national hero, our father. In addition, we are deeply touched by the entire Namibian nation who have joined us to share in our pain and grief since the death of our father.
Similarly, we deeply appreciate wishes of fortitude and heart-warming sincere condolences and sympathies from foreign heads of state and dignitaries around the globe. The tributes that have poured in from many countries are proof of how our father was not only recognised but revered by others beyond our country.
Such gestures of solidarity go a long way in affirming our oneness as Africans in the spirit of pan-Africanism and gave us solace as we navigated through this dark cloud that hovers around our family and the entire nation.
Director of ceremonies, your excellency, fellow mourners,
To you all we say, your words of comfort here today and in the past few days since the death of our father consoled our family from a grief of a loss so overwhelming and served to alleviate the pain and anguish of our bereavement, leaving us only with the cherished memory of our father.
Although the death of our father, Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, caused deep sorrow and grief to the family and the entire nation, we, nevertheless, celebrate his exemplary deeds and we are immensely comforted in the knowledge and pride that our father has left an indelible legacy which we will strive to emulate and walk in his footsteps.
His voice reverberates in the halls of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, the corridors of power of the Non-Aligned Movement, the headquarters of the Organisation of African Unity, the forerunner of the African Union. His indelible footprints follow the path of justice and freedom and his unwavering spirit encourages those who are fighting for self-determination and for peace and reconciliation.
Director of ceremonies, your excellency, fellow mourners,
Our father was a loving husband to his dear wife, our mother, meme Kovambo Nujoma, and a caring father to my siblings and I, as well as a reliable and protective head of family who devoted his life to the entire Nujoma, Kondombolo and Mushimba Family.
Indeed, he was a pillar of strength and a fountain of wisdom in the family, although we could not have him around us all the time, we understood very well that he embodied and personified the liberation struggle for Namibia's freedom and independence. Despite the fact that our hearts are engulfed by grief, we therefore celebrate his long and fulfilling life as well as his unwavering spirit when he dedicated his entire life to the liberation of our motherland and the African continent.
In this regard, sometimes, from a family perspective, it was very hard for us as I vividly recall, as a young child, in 1959 when my father left Windhoek and travelled clandestinely to open Ovamboland People's Organisation branch offices all over the country.
On his arrival, at many of those places, before he disembarked from the train he used for travel, the police were already looking for him as they would have noticed that he was not in Windhoek, so they would send cable messages to all train stations in the whole of South West Africa to arrest him, but he always came up with strategies on how to escape the tactics of the oppressive regime. On other occasions, our family was frequently harassed by the apartheid colonial forces from people such as the notorious captain Blaauw and native commissioner Brewer Blignaut, and our father had to endure constant arrests and was given fines for travelling without a pass.
In the aftermath of the Windhoek massacre of 10 December 1959, where 11 innocent Namibians were killed by the South African colonial regime, including our heroine Anna Kakurukaze Mungunda, under the orders of De Wet, superintendent of the Old Location, chief native commissioner Blignaut, chief of police major Lombard, mayor of Windhoek Jaap Snyman and other municipal and government officials, from 27 to 31 December 1959, the house of chief Hosea Kutako and our house were surrounded by the police who came down to both houses before dawn, waking us up and frightening everyone while searching for documents.
Fortunately, our mother's young sisters, who were staying with us, bravely took our father's documents to our neighbour, the late comrade Aaron Hamutenya to hide them. After constant harassments and having to pay bail every time, on the morning of 29 February 1960, our father jumped bail and went into exile crossing into British Bechuanaland Protectorate on the 1st of March 1960.
We, the children, survived under the care of our mother, who was a strict disciplinarian and always made sure that we attended school and remained humble and disciplined. I remember that in April 1974, after the coup in Portugal, the Angolan border was no longer guarded by hostile soldiers and thus the best route out of Namibia was now opened in the north.
It is against this background that in 1974, with my two brothers, the late John Ndeshipanda, Nefungo and I, went into exile to join the liberation struggle under
the leadership of Swapo. We later joined the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan), after we received military training and I joined the military front, when I was assigned to the eastern front like many of my comrades whose sole purpose was to liberate Namibia from the apartheid South African regime.
Our journey into exile was like that of many Namibians who left to fight for freedom. Our father felt that the children of other Namibian parents were freedom fighters too and there would be no exception for his children. This illustrates that our father instilled in his family the values of fairness and commitment to bigger causes.
The war of liberation for Namibia and the subsequent development and prosperity of the Namibian people were at the centre of his existence. We were not insulated from the possibility of death during the liberation struggle. To us, our father was the commander-in-chief of Plan, Swapo's military wing and we followed his instructions, relied on his wisdom forged over decades of leadership from a very young age. This is how my younger brother John Ndeshipanda and our uncle Elia Shivute, known as Kanjeka, died in exile as combatants of Plan. May their souls continue to rest in peace!
In 1978, our revered and beloved mother - whose nurturing strength and unwavering commitment to Namibia's liberation inspired countless souls - bravely crossed the border into Botswana with our younger sister, Usuta, and several nieces and nephews, and embarked on this perilous journey with determination and a heart full of hope. Among those who accompanied her was also our current first lady, Sustjie Mbumba, and her daughter Ripuree - testament to the enduring bonds of leadership and compassion that emerged during our struggle for freedom.
My mother's courageous passage not only underscored her profound resolve but also illuminated her role as a beacon of maternal love and support, nurturing both her own children and the many children she so selflessly embraced. Most importantly, our parents instilled in us the values of respect for elders, the importance of our cultural values and norms and solidarity with fellow human
beings.
Fellow mourners,
We are grateful for our father's visionary leadership, dedication and love for Namibia and its people as he always wanted Namibia to be self-reliant and Africa to be free from colonialism and oppression.
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We will thus sorely miss him but what he stood for will never be forgotten as his work and indelible legacy will fill the void of his death. Over the past few years, our father became frail, as those who age do. As a family we realised it was time to reciprocate the love and care showered on us throughout the years. Each moment we were able to spend with our father, each act of kindness, became a gesture of gratitude for the precious gift of family.
As our father takes a befitting rest, allow me once again on behalf of the entire Nujoma, Kondombolo and Mushimba family, and indeed on my own behalf, to convey our deepest gratitude to the government of Namibia, under the leadership of president Nangolo Mbumba, for conferring a befitting state funeral of a national hero, our father, and for allowing regional memorial services in his honour.
We would also like to thank the entire Namibian nation as well as the international community for their soothing messages of condolences and sympathies that have indeed consoled us during our darkest moment of pain and grief. Similarly, we would like to wholeheartedly extend our deepest appreciation and thank all those who have been working with our father in his old age including the doctors and other health workers who looked after him when he was hospitalised since March last year. You did the best you could.
I fully agree that heroes and commanders do not die, as their spirits live on among us. It is now our solemn responsibility to strive to live together as a family and build the future destiny of our country to which our father dedicated his entire life. I also wish that we remain with the cherished memory of our father who lived his life for us and the people of Namibia.
As a nation, we are reminded by our father's words of wisdom when he used to say: "A people united, striving to achieve a common good for all members of the society, will always emerge victorious!"
Go well our father!
Farewell founding president and father of the Namibian nation!
May his soul rest in eternal peace!
