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Obituaries
WorldAfrica

Namibia president and anti-apartheid activist Hage Geingob dies at 82

  • Geingob had been receiving treatment for cancer. His deputy, Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba, was sworn in as acting president on Sunday
  • Geingob maintained close relations with the US and other Western countries but also, like many African leaders, forged a warm relationship with China

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Namibia’s President Hage Geingob died on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Associated Press

Namibia’s president and founding prime minister Hage Geingob died on Sunday at age 82 while receiving treatment for cancer, and the southern African nation quickly swore in his deputy to complete the term in office.

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Geingob played a central role in what has become one of Africa’s most stable democracies after returning from a long exile in Botswana and the United States as an anti-apartheid activist. He was the country’s third president since it gained independence in 1990 following more than a century of German and then apartheid South African rule.

He had been president since 2015 and was set to finish his second and final term this year. His deputy, Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba, was sworn in as acting president in the capital, Windhoek, to complete the term as allowed by the constitution.

Nangolo Mbumba swears in as Namibia’s president following the death of Hage Geingob, in Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Nangolo Mbumba swears in as Namibia’s president following the death of Hage Geingob, in Windhoek, Namibia on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Elections are set for November. A government statement said Mbumba will lead Namibia until March 21 of next year, when the winner takes office.

The presidential office said Geingob died in a local hospital with his family by his side. He had returned to Namibia last month from the United States, where he underwent a trial two-day “novel treatment for cancerous cells”, according to his office. In 2014, he said he had survived prostate cancer.

Soft-spoken but firm on advancing Africa’s agenda as an important stakeholder in world affairs – “the exclusion of Africa from the Security Council is an injustice”, he once said in a United Nations address – Geingob maintained close relations with the United States and other Western countries but also, like many African leaders, forged a warm relationship with China and other powers.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the leaders who sent condolences Sunday, saying he would “forever cherish” his memories of meeting Geingob. “It is difficult to overestimate his personal contribution to developing friendly relations between Namibia and Russia,” a statement said.
Geingob hosted US first lady Jill Biden last year as she visited ahead of what had been an expected trip to Africa by her husband US President Joe Biden in 2023. That did not take place.
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