This week marked exactly two years since the demise of former president Hage Geingob, a towering African political figure, a first among equals.
As February approached, the memory of the 4 February 2024 returned with a heaviness that words still struggle to carry: ‘The sitting President is no more’. This week, Namibia paused to remember that fateful day in 2024 when the nation lost one of its own – not merely a sitting President, but a freedom fighter, a giant of democracy, a diplomat, a nation-builder – and above all, the President. It is never easy when death claims a leader, but there is a particular shock when it takes someone so deeply woven into the national fabric.
The announcement of Geingob’s passing was paralysing.
Many remember being jolted awake by the news, clinging for a few minutes to the hope that it was a bad dream. Then reality set in. He was gone. Now, in the second year since his demise, the question before us is not only how we remember him, but how we honour him.
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If flowers are to be given, let them not be reserved only for the graveside. Let them continue to blossom.
These are the flowers he planted in life – and in death, it is upon us to keep watering them. Any honest reflection on late president Geingob’s legacy must acknowledge that he led Namibia through some of its lowest and most trying moments. Former first lady Monica Geingos could not have put it better this while paying tribute to her late husband.
She said Geingob’s legacy does not belong to a single individual, but to the entire Namibian nation. “We miss him. We miss his leadership. We miss his humour. But we are also comforted by his legacy… I speak as somebody close to him. I also speak as a Namibian. I think Namibians have made it clear that we all miss him,” Geingos said.
While many view great men like Geingob as demigods and perfect immortals, Geingos was unumbigous, saying, just as in his many feats, Geingob too, had challenges, some of them profound.
Geingos stressed that the lessons from Geingob’s life – both his triumphs and challenges – are open for all to learn from.
“Nobody owns him. Nobody owns his legacy, and he had something to teach all of us. Whether it’s things that he did very well in or things that he struggled with,” she said. “Hage was an honest person. He had massive successes that we celebrate, and we learnt the lessons of the things that he grappled with,” added Geingos.
The Geingob Presidency was not a walk in the park.
He was arguably one of the most challenged sitting presidents in the country’s history. In 2016, with just over a year in office, the global economy was crumbling, and Namibia’s key contributors to the gross domestic product – diamonds and uranium – were heavily affected. It was a moment when panic-driven borrowing could easily have plunged the country into unsustainable debt. Instead, restraint prevailed. Belts were tightened. Hard choices were made. When you are hungry, you do not see past your bread – but for the visionary leader, the future is more important. Three years into his first term, Namibia was struck by the devastating 2018/19 drought, described as the worst in nearly 90 years.
Farmers suffered massive livestock losses, communities battled malnutrition and despair, and water scarcity reached alarming levels . Windhoek recorded some of its lowest rainfall since records began in 1891.
The psychological toll on the nation was profound. Before the country could fully recover, another calamity struck – Covid-19 between 2020 and 2022.
The pandemic was the greatest global challenge of our lifetime, and it tested leadership across the world.
For Namibia, it was a moment of fear, panic and painful silence. We learned the true meaning of solitude.We brushed shoulders with death. Yet, amid the uncertainty, Geingob’s leadership offered steadiness. He addressed the nation with calm, transparency and resolve, reminding Namibians that, while the times were dark, we were not alone.
He was the life during that difficult time . In this context, flowers must also be given where they are due. Former minister of health Dr Kalumbi Shangula deserves recognition for his role during that difficult period. Leadership, after all, is not a solo act. When the masks finally came off, and social distancing ended, the economic scars remained.
In the “now future” debts are under control – we thank ‘Omes’, as we affectionately known him. Today, Namibia’s debt levels remain relatively controlled, a testament to that difficult but disciplined approach.
Geingob and his team’s stewardship helped keep the country afloat during a global economic storm. Finally, Namibia’s economy was sprouting. Strategic sectors such as green hydrogen and oil exploration began to take tangible shape under his leadership. These were not instant solutions, but long-term investments aimed at positioning Namibia in a rapidly changing global economy.
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In his final official address to the nation, Geingob was convinced that he would bequeath Namibians a better Namibia than the one he found.
He spoke of a better Namibia – one he was consciously preparing for the next leadership team. He was laying a template – not for personal glory, but for continuity. Tragically, his term ended far more abruptly than anyone expected. Yet, his legacy lives on in the national frameworks he championed.
The Harambee prosperity plans stand as a central pillar of his presidency, rooted in inclusivity and people-centred development.
Through Harambee, hunger was acknowledged not as a rural problem alone, but as a national crisis affecting urban and rural communities alike.
The establishment of the Food Bank was one such practical intervention – a recognition that dignity begins with the ability to eat. As we remember late president Geingob this February – a month that also speaks of love – our thoughts are with his family. But remembrance must go beyond sympathy. As Namibians, we are called to hold hands in watering his flowers: unity, resilience, inclusivity and preservation of democracy. *May Hage G Geingob’s soul continue resting in power.
And may the garden he planted continue to blossom.
