Mbumba, Pohamba hail Kanana Hishoono as unifier

Former presidents Hifikepunye Pohamba and Nangolo Mbumba on Friday paid glowing tributes to liberation hero and Swapo founding member Kanana Hishoono, describing him as a unifier, prolific mobiliser and principled servant of the nation.

Speaking at Hishoono’s memorial service at his residence at Onambutu in the Ohangwena region, Mbumba said Hishoono occupied a critical place among the pioneers of the liberation struggle, standing shoulder to shoulder with some of Swapo’s most senior figures.

He said Hishoono was a peer of Namibia’s most senior figures in the struggle for independence, including Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, Eliazer Kahumba Kandola and Simon Kaukungwa, among many others.

Mbumba, Namibia’s fourth president, described Hishoono as “a man of peace and one who fostered unity”. He added that his life could be “encapsulated as that of a man defined by dignity, compassion and service. Service to his family, service to his party, and service to his country”.

Tracing Hishoono’s revolutionary path, Mbumba said his footprints on the journey towards self-determination could be traced from northern Namibia into exile in Angola, Zambia and Cuba.

Mbumba further highlighted Hishoono’s role as a recruiter, saying he mobilised Namibians across regions, schools and professions.

“He did not recruit only from his own village. He recruited from schools, from teachers, from everywhere,” he said.

In his tribute, former president Pohamba described Hishoono as an extraordinary son of Namibia. He referred to him as “a liberation hero of uncommon courage, a principled leader and a steadfast champion of justice, unity and human dignity”.

Pohamba said Hishoono’s wisdom and integrity were trusted at the highest levels of governance, having served as political adviser to founding president Sam Nujoma.

In a statement read on his behalf, Pohamba said Hishoono continued his invaluable service at State House during his tenure as Namibia’s second president.

He added that Hishoono also served for many years as secretary of the Swapo Elders Council, where he played a key role in fostering intergenerational dialogue, national reconciliation and political stability.

Hishoono, along with Pohamba, was one of the few remaining original torchbearers of Namibia’s national struggle for independence, as founders of the former liberation movement, Swapo of Namibia.

His political activism began in the late 1950s, during which time he was among the founders of the Ovamboland People’s Organisation, which later transformed into the national liberation movement, Swapo.

Hishoono, who had long retired from active political life, died on 14 January in a hospital at Ondangwa at the age of 89 – Nampa

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