Mwatile opposes mausoleum for Nujoma, calls for village burial

Former executive director (ED) Peter Mwatile says founding president Sam Nujoma should not be buried in a mausoleum, as he would not have approved of this costly extravagance.

Mwatile, who was close to the Nujoma family, worked in former president Hifikepunye Pohamba’s office.

The former ED last year warned Swapo against using Nujoma’s name in the party’s succession politics.

Mwatile is now claiming Namibia’s first president would not have wanted to be buried in his own special room at Heroes’ Acre outside Windhoek.

Mausoleums are air-conditioned chambers, designed to preserve bodies after being embalmed.

“Nujoma died a peasant. He cannot be put in a capitalist room. Putting him there is equivalent to saying he belongs to the bourgeoisie,” Mwatile said on Wednesday.

The mausoleums at Heroes’ Acre are reserved for burying presidents and former presidents.

Former president Hage Geingob, who died in February last year, is buried in one of them.

Mwatile said burying the founding president in a mausoleum would be a costly exercise, as these special chambers are expensive to maintain.

“The money needed to maintain the mausoleums must be diverted to other developmental projects,” he said.

Mwatile said mausoleums are meant to house rich people.

“Even if Nujoma was to be asked if he wanted to be buried in the mausoleum, he would have said no.”

Mwatile said Nujoma should be buried underground like others who have been buried at Hereos’ Acre before him.

He suggested that Nujoma be buried at Omugulugwombashe in the Omusati region.

“That’s where the first bullet was fired by the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan), and he was Plan’s commander.

If they are saying Omugulugwombashe is far, Windhoek is also far from people from, for example, Opuwo and Katima Mulilo.”

Mwatile said even in rich countries presidents are not buried in mausoleums.

“Only in the poor Namibia do they get buried there,” he said. Mwatile claimed burying Nujoma at the Omugulugwombashe Shrine would also attract tourists.

Nujoma’s nephew, David Nuyoma, who is also the Nujoma family’s spokesperson, however, yesterday said the government is responsible for deciding where the founding president will be buried.

“We don’t have a position on that,” he said.

Former Swapo think tank member Ben Mulongeni questioned why African leaders are buried in luxury while their people are poor.

He said even United States (US) presidents are buried like anyone else.

“I am saying he must be buried in a dignified way, but in a manner which is acceptable to the taxpayers and the unemployed.”

Former director of the National Heritage Council and current governor of the Hardap region Salomon April told The Namibian last year the mausoleums were built for Namibia to join international standards in honouring their heroes and heroines.

Executive director of information and communication technology Audrin Mathe yesterday said his ministry acknowledged the immense national and international interest in the burial arrangements of the late founding president.

“We wish to inform the public that the details regarding the date, time and location of the burial will be announced at a later stage.

“The responsible authorities are diligently handling the necessary arrangements, ensuring that they align with the dignity and stature of the late leader,” he said.

Mathe urged the public and media to remain patient as these details are finalised.

The debate about where to bury former African heads of state seems to be recurring.

This was also seen in 2019 in Zimbabwe when former president Robert Mugabe died.

When former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos died in 2022, there was also a dispute. Even Zambian first president Kenneth Kaunda could not find a resting place in 2021 without dispute.

His family allegedly wanted him to be laid to rest next to his wife, and not at the official site the government had designated.