Pohamba paved way for Namibia’s first non-Oshiwambo leader, supports woman president – son Tulongeni says 

… says former president will see first woman president too

Former president Hifikepunye Pohamba’s son says his father has paved the way for Namibia’s first non-Oshiwambo-speaking president.

Tulongeni Pohamba says the former leader is now on the verge of seeing the country’s first woman president.

Pohamba (89) publicly endorsed former president Hage Geingob’s candidature in 2014 and campaigned for him during his first tenure.

Tulongeni at the launch of his father’s biography, ‘The Footprints of Hifikepunye Pohamba – Ondjila Eyi A Enda’, in Windhoek on Monday, said Pohamba does not approve of the chauvinism that ruled at the time.

The book narrates the life of Namibia’s second president and his contribution to the country’s independence.

“To predict the current outcome in 2005 would have been a conjecture. These choices went against the grain, yet he and his team made these decisions because it was the right thing to do,” Tulongeni said.

He said the book shows that the path of integrity can be rewarding in ways that cannot be measured.

Tulongeni said his father presided over the largest decrease in HIV transmission rates since the pandemic began.

“Those older than 30 remember how this disease was brought under control within their lifetimes under the collective leadership of Dr Pohamba and his team,” he said.

“There are almost no glass ceilings left, for he has contributed to shattering them with the support of his team,” he said.

Tulongeni said he hopes Namibia continues to nurture leadership that uses his father’s example as a guiding principle.

He said the level of per capita growth under the collective leadership during his father’s tenure increased.

A prominent Swapo source, who prefers to remain anonymous, said people should stop looking for glory unnecessarily.

‘APPOINTED BY NUJOMA’

“Geingob was appointed to the biggest portfolio in the government as prime minister by Sam Nujoma. Those are cuca shop stories, did the female candidate win?” he asked.

A former minister of information and communication technology and longtime friend of Pohamba’s, Ben Amathila, at the launch described him as a man of the people and easy to work with.

“President Pohamba has an element of solidarity in decision-making. It’s reflected in the work he has done,” he said.
Political Analyst Rui Tyitende says Pohamba’s two terms had mixed results regarding the country’s socio-economic landscape.

“Most notable was the Targeted Intervention Programme on Employment and Economic Growth, with a price tag of N$14 billion and a promise of creating 104 000 jobs that were never realised.

“The second mega project was the mass housing, or ‘mess housing’ that attempted to alleviate the housing crisis, but failed to achieve its intended goals,” he says.

Tyitende says the country went on a spending spree and the current debt crisis has been inherited from Pohamba’s term in office, despite an annual budget labelled ‘pro-poor and pro-growth’.

He says Pohamba established the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs to cater for those who sacrificed their lives for Namibia’s independence.

“This is something Nujoma was reluctant to do, as he was of the opinion that people joined the struggle on a voluntary basis,” Tyitende says.

To this day, veterans remain grateful, he says.

“The significant projects that happened under his watch, such as Tipeeg, mass housing and the Neckartal Dam, have all suffered negative publicity.”

This can be attributed to his relaxed leadership style, the analyst says.

“In the Southern African Development Community context, Pohamba is highly respected for his mediation efforts in Lesotho and Madagascar, mostly because of his personality that enables him to instil a culture of trust and mutual cooperation among conflicting parties.

“Sadly, we never gave him credit for those accomplishments,” Tyitende says.

• * This story has been updated