It has been difficult for our family – Utoni Nujoma

Founding president Sam Nujoma’s son and labour minister, Utoni Nujoma, says the past six months have been difficult for his family.

He said this on Wednesday during a memorial service at his Windhoek residence.

“The past six months have been difficult moments as my father has been sick, [we were] running up and down to hospital [at] midnight. So it has not been easy,” he said.

He described his father as a leader who treated everyone equally, and expressed gratitude for not receiving special treatment despite being the founding president’s son.

“For me, the relationship with my father was that of army commander commanding his soldiers. So whenever I came up, he told me, ‘Utoni, you must go and do this’ and I obliged,” he said.

Also speaking at the memorial service, former senior special assistant in the Office of the Presidency John Nauta recalled his reverence after shaking hands with Nujoma at the age of 18.

“I, for one, always preserve my right hand to remain with tatekulu’s handshake,” he said.

He recalled their first meeting in 1975 in western Zambia. He was in a group who were told to wait for Nujoma – who was returning from the front – before they proceeded to their training camp.

He said the young soldiers who feared Nujoma would tell them to return to school due to their age, but to their surprise he never did. To their jubilation, Nauta said Nujoma saw them as fit for military training and encouraged them to go and fight the enemy, giving them each a firm handshake.

He said the founding president was a father and hero to all who worked tirelessly to complete his projects, adding that the desire for freedom and independence guided Nujoma’s consciousness, efforts and contribution throughout his life.

See full opinion piece by Utoni Nujoma on page 10.

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