Windhoekers mourn city’s ‘silent guardian’
For the past two decades, Biggs van Wyk has been a familiar face to many in Windhoek’s central business district (CBD).
He was known as the old man who sat on a camping chair on the pavement, silently observing the city’s bustling traffic in solitude for hours as strangers walked and drove by.
His walking stick was always by his side.
“He had a relationship with the city most of us never understood,” member of parliament Imms Nashinge says in a tribute on social media following the news of Van Wyk’s death at the age of 83.
Van Wyk’s family announced this in a notice on Sunday.
They have since asked for privacy.
Van Wyk died “peacefully in his sleep”, the notice reads. No further details have been provided.
Shoppers, taxi drivers, commuters, politicians and just about anybody who has lived in Windhoek long enough have noticed the white-bearded man seated along Independence Avenue and City Junction day after day for over 20 years.
Some residents say they believe Van Wyk had suffered a tragedy that affected him emotionally, while others assume he was silently praying for the city.
“I’ve always wondered why he was always there,” a Windhoek taxi driver, who once gave Van Wyk a ride, says.
‘GUARDIAN ANGEL’
Following the announcement of his death, several politicians and members of the public described Van Wyk as the city’s guardian angel or watchman, with some saying his familiar face had become part of the city’s DNA.
Nashinge says he first saw Van Wyk in late 2007 and watched him become “the city’s identity” through his continuous presence.
“He never stopped showing up. He became part of the face of Windhoek in his own right, not through noise or fanfare, but simply by being there every day,” he says.
Curious about what drew Van Wyk to the CBD, Nashinge and fellow journalists previously interviewed him.
“He had his reasons, his rhythm,” Nashinge says.
Over time, residents stopped questioning Van Wyk’s presence and simply accepted him as part of Windhoek’s identity, he says.
He believes the City of Windhoek should honour Van Wyk, adding he earned it one morning at a time.
Member of parliament McHenry Venaani says he first spotted Van Wyk on the streets of Windhoek in the late 1990s when he thought he was there to beg for money.
“Most of the time, he would receive it, but always said he was not there for the money, but waiting for Jesus,” he says.
While some want a statue of Van Wyk, Venaani says putting up a cross in the spot where he was often seated would be a “remarkable memory” of him.
“He has given our city a touch. I do not think he would want to be memorialised with a statue, so perhaps the best honour is to honour the Lord,” Venaani says, adding that Van Wyk was a godly, quiet, measured, and respectful man.
‘CAUGHT OFF GUARD’
Taxi driver Simon Shikage recalls asking Van Wyk whether he was the man always seated at the traffic lights when he boarded his taxi in 2024.
“He caught me off guard because he was the complete opposite of what I always thought of him,” he says.
“He asked me if I thought he was crazy like everyone else thought. I said yes, and he laughed loudly.”
During that ride, Shikage says, Van Wyk told him he sometimes spent time praying and meditating.
“I know it was not the main reason, but he encouraged me to pray before I always start my day.
He was a spiritual man. He was smiling throughout the entire ride,” he says.
Some Windhoek locals took to social media to pay tribute to Van Wyk.
“Many of us who were born and raised in Windhoek for the past 20 to 30 years have noticed this uncle sitting at different spots throughout the CBD alongside Independence Avenue.
He was always very well dressed and had his chair.
“Some people approached him, talked to him . . . others just saw him from a distance.
I just want to send my deepest condolences to his family during this difficult time,” a social media user called ‘The Realm of Les’ says.
Marshall ranger Sean Naude says he met Van Wyk at a men’s camp in Brakwater in 1997.
He says they have had a personal relationship since, until he saw him at the traffic lights a year later.
‘WAITING FOR GOD’
Naude says he had asked Van Wyk why he was there, who told him God had told him to wait for Him.
“I asked him what he would do to survive, but he told me his father would provide for him. He has over 20 years been a watchman, keeping an eye on the city,” he says.
Resident Elsabé Engelbrecht says she was driving along Independence Avenue about 10 years ago when she stopped at the traffic lights.
Van Wyk called out to tell her that her tyre was flat.
She says she had planned to give him a plant, but seeing the news of his death has shocked her.
“He was always well dressed, and his beard well shaved. I wondered why he was there.
I’ve been thinking about him for the past few weeks since I started a succulent plant programme,” she says.
