Nujoma took no prisoners – Mbeki

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki says Namibia’s founding president, Sam Nujoma, contributed immensely to the liberation of the continent and the creation of key institutions like the African Union (AU).

Mbeki served as the inaugural chairperson of the AU in 2002.

Speaking to SABC international editor Sophie Mokoena on Monday, Mbeki described Nujoma as a straight talker who never took prisoners on issues he believed in.

He was commenting on Nujoma’s address a few years ago when he challenged former United Kingdom (UK) prime minister Tony Blair to stop interfering with Zimbabwe.

At that time Zimbabwe, under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, was involved in a bitter political tiff with its former coloniser Britain over a chaotic land reform programme instituted by that country.

“President Nujoma was not a diplomat. Not to mean it in a bad way, but he was indeed a straight talker,” Mbeki said.

The land reforms in Zimbabwe, a result of the Lancaster House agreement which gave the southern African country its independence, saw Britain making a U-turn and refusing to fund land reforms in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe then grabbed land from white farmers, in some instances violently, to the ire of most Western countries.
Nujoma stood with Mugabe.

Mbeki recalled his first encounter with Nujoma in the early 1970s after returning to the African National Congress (ANC) headquarters in Lusaka.
He said Nujoma was not just the leader of Swapo, but a key figure in the broader fight against oppression in southern Africa.

“President Sam Nujoma was one of our leaders in the real sense of the word. We didn’t treat him as a leader belonging to another organisation, he was one of our own,” Mbeki said.

He pointed to the close relationship between the ANC and Swapo, recalling his time as the ANC’s representative in Nigeria in the late 1970s.

‘ONE SINGLE UNIT’

He said the ANC and Swapo representatives operated as a single unit, publishing journals together and coordinating their efforts in the fight against apartheid.

He shared how Nujoma fully supported this unity, considering it a natural way of working together.

“Our struggle was a common struggle against the same enemy, the apartheid regime. The two organisations worked very well together in that context, and so this loss, comrade Sam Nujoma’s death, is a personal loss for all of us who were there at the time,” Mbeki said.

‘CLOSING OF A CHAPTER’

He described Nujoma as the last of a generation of liberation leaders who led their countries to independence, calling his death a historical moment marking the closing of a significant chapter in southern Africa’s political history.

“He represents the end of an age, the end of a generation that did a lot and set an example of what needs to be done.”

Mbeki also reflected on their working relationship after Namibia gained independence in 1990, when Nujoma was president and South Africa was still navigating its transition to democracy.

He specifically mentioned the discussions surrounding Walvis Bay, the coastal enclave that remained under South African control until its reintegration into Namibia in 1994.

“Walvis Bay was, in terms of those colonial arrangements, a part of South African territory.

Unlike the rest of Namibia, the rest of Namibia was a colony. But Walvis Bay was, in that context, a South African territory.

“We decided in 1994 that we are not going to enter into any negotiations with the government of Namibia about this, because this is Namibian territory. So we just handed it over. We said this is Namibian territory,” Mbeki said.

‘NO MINCING WORDS’

Mbeki went on to describe Nujoma as someone who didn’t mince his words.

“He was indeed a straight talker. He was never a diplomat. But it was never intended to offend anyone. It was never unnecessary aggressiveness, it was a need to state clearly what the positions were.

“I never heard anybody complain about it, that he was honest and straightforward,” he said.

Mbeki said people around Nujoma understood the reasons for his bluntness.

FOUNDATION OF NAMIBIAN DEMOCRACY

Mbeki credited Namibia’s democracy to the foundations laid by Nujoma.

He said he observed the 2024 presidential and National Assembly elections very closely and that the ongoing election challenge by the Independent Patriots for Change and Landless People’s Movement is anchored in principles set by Nujoma.

“We observed the last elections in Namibia very closely and I am very glad that the opposition decided to go to court to contest the outcome (of the elections), unlike what has happened in Mozambique.

“I think the reason the opposition did this is because of the tradition established by Sam Nujoma in terms of the establishment of a democracy in Namibia,” Mbeki said.

He said allowing Nujoma a third term was discussed at length and was agreed on by “everyone”.

“To change the Constitution of Namibia to allow president Nujoma to serve a third term was discussed in the region, and all of us came to the same conclusion that it was first of all important to protect the democracy in Namibia and ensure the stability of the country,” he said.

ORANGE RIVER DISPUTE

Addressing another long-standing issue between South Africa and Namibia, Mbeki spoke about the ongoing discussions regarding the Orange River boundary.

“Normally what happens is a boundary is drawn in the middle of the waterway,” he said.

He said South Africa, however, took the position that the boundary, as inherited from colonial times, should remain unchanged, in line with the Organisation of African Unity principle of respecting inherited borders.

“The South African boundary is on the northern bank of the Orange River, so the entirety of the Orange River is South African,” he said.

He said Namibia has raised the argument that, in accordance with international norms, the boundary should be drawn in the middle of the river.

Mbeki insisted that South Africa, however, saw no need for detailed negotiations or international arbitration on the matter.
“Our position was that we didn’t need that.

And we said to our Namibian comrades: ‘Look, the boundary, according to these colonial things, is on the northern border.

But in terms of our relations, you have access to the entirety of the Orange River’,” he said.

Mbeki said Namibia’s access to the river was never restricted, and South Africa would not take legal or punitive measures against Namibians using the river.

“We won’t arrest you because your boat or somebody is on the southern bank of the Orange. You have entire access to this, and we can write that down,” he said.

ON NETUMBO

Meanwhile, Mbeki said he remembers president-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah from earlier years in Lusaka.

“I knew her when she was very young in Lusaka.

So I have seen her growing up in Swapo. I am very, very confident that in her you have a leader of Namibia who would really wants to follow in the footsteps of president Nujoma about these matters about service to the people, loyalty to principle, and a strong sense of pan-Africanism,” Mbeki said.

He expressed hope that Nandi-Ndaitwah would also respect whatever is decided by the courts in the election challenge.

“I know there are many, many, many people in Namibia, not just members of Swapo, who really respect, practically, what president Nujoma and his colleagues stood for . . . we never want to betray that kind of legacy,” Mbeki said.

He said Namibia and South Africa should continue to respect the nature of their relations.

“Therefore, the cooperation between us and the Namibians is really in honour of president Nujoma..

– The Conversation