Nujoma was straight talker – Mbeki

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki has described founding president Sam Nujoma as a straight talker and struggle leader to all.

Speaking to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) yesterday, Mbeki said he met Nujoma for the first time in Lusaka in 1971.

He said they would call Nujoma ‘Uncle Sam’.

“President Nujoma was one of our leaders in the true sense of the world. We did not treat him as a leader from another organisation.

“He was one of our leaders during the struggle, not only Swapo’s leader,” Mbeki said.

He that losing Nujoma is a loss to both Namibia and South Africa.

“He represents the end of an age and a generation – a generation that did a lot. President Nujoma was a straight talker, he was never a diplomat,” Mbeki said.

Commenting on 2002 Nujoma’s attack on former British prime minister Tony Blair, Mbeki defended Nujoma, saying the outburst was never intended to offend or embarrass Blair.

“I don’t think it caused harm anywhere. He did not have ill intentions, it was not aggression. It was not intended to embarrass anyone, including Tony Blair.

“I never heard anyone complaining that he is too honest and too straightforward why he spoke the way he did,” Mbeki said.

At the time, Nujoma accused the former British prime minister of being responsible for many of the problems in Zimbabwe.

Mbeki said the Southern African Development Community discussed the amendment of the Namibian Constitution in 1998 to allow Nujoma to stand for the presidency for a third time.

“We discussed that matter in the region, and all of us came to the same conclusion that it was important to protect the democracy in Namibia and stability in the country in terms of conflict,” Mbeki said.

As the country prepares to welcome president-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Mbeki has expressed confidence that she would follow in Nujoma’s footsteps and prioritise the needs of the Namibian people.

“I am very confident that in her you have a leader of Namibia who would really want to follow in the footsteps of president Nujoma about service to the people, loyal to the principles and strong sense of pan-Africanism,” he said