State House will update on Nujoma’s health when necessary – Hengari

President Nangolo Mbumba’s spokesperson, Alfredo Hengari, says the presidency will update the nation on the health of founding president Sam Nujoma when necessary.

Currently, under medical supervision, Nujoma’s condition remains a point of public interest.

Nujoma’s son, Utoni Nujoma, on Thursday told The Namibian that his 95-year-old father was hospitalised in Windhoek last week.
Utoni also said his father was in a stable condition.

Nujoma, who served as the Namibian president for 15 years from 1990 to 2005, has battled health issues in recent years, leading to numerous hospitalisations.

The white-bearded leader is the last of a generation of African presidents who fought against colonialism and apartheid.

His contemporaries, Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe), Nelson Mandela (South Africa), Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), Samora Machel (Mozambique), Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia), and José Eduardo dos Santos (Angola), have all passed away.

“The presidency will continue to monitor the situation around the health of founding president Sam Nujoma who is under medical supervision and will communicate when necessary,” Hengari told The Namibian on Sunday.

Last Friday, the Namibian Sun reported that president Nangolo Mbumba could not attend the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) extraordinary congress in Harare on Friday to monitor Nujoma’s health. Hengari, however, dismissed this claim as “unhelpful speculation”.

The meeting was convened to deliberate on the ongoing security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Hengari said the president could not attend because he had a pre-planned engagement with foreign diplomats.

“President Nangolo Mbumba had planned to attend the extraordinary Sadc summit dealing with the escalating security situation in eastern DRC on the initial date, which was 30 January. Unfortunately, the summit was postponed to the following day, the 31 January,” Hengari said.

He further said on Friday the president had a packed agenda on the day with nine heads of missions presenting their letters of credence, which Hengari said is an important activity the head of state cannot delegate under normal protocol.

“A number of them had travelled from neighbouring countries to present their letters of credence and to receive their letters of accreditation. Moreover, the president also invited the diplomatic community for the New Year’s message on the evening of 31 January 2025.”

“These are the reasons why the president could not attend the extraordinary summit to which he delegated minister of defence Frans Kapofi. Everything else is unhelpful speculation,” Hengari said.