By Nyasha Nyaungwa, WINDHOEK Namibia
Namibia's late president, Hage Geingob, who died in hospital on Feb. 4, weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, was buried at the Heroes Acre on Sunday with thousands of mourners, including 25 heads of state and former presidents in attendance.
The burial was on the
outskirts of Windhoek following 20 days of mourning.
Soldiers gave Geingob a 21-gun
salute while K-8 fighter jets flew past.
Geingob, 82, Namibia's
two-time prime minister and third president since its independence from
minority-ruled South Africa in 1990, has been in charge of the sparsely
populated and mostly arid southern African nation since 2015.
He was serving his final year
in office.
A veteran of the country's
independence struggle, Geingob lived in exile for 27 years, spending time in
Botswana, Zambia and the U.S. before returning to Namibia in 1989.
He held several senior positions in government and in his party, South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO), including chairing the body that drafted Namibia's constitution, considered a model of good governance and the rule of law.
As Namibia's first prime
minister, Geingob is credited for introducing modern management approaches to
the running of the government.
"Your impact on us has
been profound, your footprint on this nation is immense," said Nangolo
Mbumba, interim president at the funeral. "You leave our country in better
shape ... You have left us with an economic roadmap towards prosperity,"
he added.
Namibia is considered a middle-income country with abundant diamonds, uranium and lithium reserves needed for electric car batteries.
Recently, the country has made
efforts to attract foreign investment in the global green economy by becoming
the first African country to agree to supply the European Union with green
hydrogen and minerals needed for clean energy.
Namibia, a former German
colony, is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in
November.
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