Mensah-Williams remembers Geingob as selfless leader

. . . Late president offered to drive Nujoma’s car to ensure it did not contain a bomb

Namibian representative to the United States (US) ambassador Margaret Mensah-Williams remembers president Hage Geingob as a selfless leader who would put his life on the line for others, a great statesman and an exemplary leader.

Mensah-Williams says she salutes the late commander-in-chief for his exceptional leadership and selflessness, adding that he put others first and was committed to the well-being and rights of others.

She said this at a memorial service hosted by Namibia’s diplomatic mission in Washington, DC, in the US.

At the event the Namibian community in the US was joined by Africans and American citizens who paid tribute to Geingob.

“Your vision and courage have shaped Namibia’s future, and your actions have touched the lives of countless individuals.

Thank you for your service and for being an examplary role model for leaders around the world,” Mensah-Williams said.

She narrated how Geingob risked his life by test driving a vehicle to ensure Nujoma’s safety upon his return to Namibia on 14 September 1989.

“When founding president Sam Nujoma returned to the country to take over the reins, his official vehicle was produced in a country that oppressed Namibia, and people were not sure whether those agents did not plant a bomb in that vehicle.

“Nobody wanted to go for a test drive, and he never liked me to tell the story, but I will tell it, because he is no more and the incident is the best illustration of his selflessness.

“And then he decided he is driving in that vehicle. If there was a bomb in that vehicle and that bomb went off, he would have been killed. So he would lay down his life for other people . . ,” she said.

Florizelle Liser, the president and chief executive of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in Washington, DC, said the CCA recognises Geingob as a major figure in the political and economic development of the country.

He played a critical role in the United Nations’ recognition of Swapo, while also pursuing his education, and then returning to support the independence of Namibia and serve in strategic roles in Swapo and the Constituent Assembly and, she said.

“The CCA salutes Geingob as one of Africa’s great leaders, will miss him dearly, and stand with the people of Namibia in continuing on the path of economic and political success that rested on his shoulders,” said Liser.

Ambassador Tadeous Chifamba, representing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) group of ambassadors, recognised Geingob’s efforts to strengthen integration among SADC countries.

“When he assumed the Namibian Presidency, we vividly recall his tireless efforts to ensure the SADC region remained solid and united as a group in advancing our integration agenda.

“It would therefore be an understatement to say the SADC is much poorer with his absence,” he said.

Koby Koomson, a former Ghanian ambassador to the USA, remembered Geingob as a friend and brother.

“Posterity will remember Geingob as a selfless and legendary leader, whose only mission was to seek the best interests of his people in Namibia, and by extension the interests of every African,” he said.

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