“End of Era” in Africa as a country funeral

Namibian founder Sam Nujoma is “a giant among leaders,” and “…the most precious gift of freedom,” said President Nangolo Mbumba.

He spoke before the massive crowds of Heroes Acres, where the country's most respected citizens are buried, before Nujoma rested on Spirit US.

The leader of Namibian independence struggle against apartheid South Africa passed away last month at the age of 95.

Nujoma was considered the last generation of Africans who fought for freedom towards the anti-colonial movement.

“His departure therefore marks the end of the era of being the founder of Africa,” President Mbumba said in a previous speech at the national service ceremony on Friday.

“We are not only mourning today, but also celebrating an extraordinary leader who has made a significant contribution to our country’s independence.

On Saturday, the co-co of Nujoma, covered in Namibian flag, was being driven from Windhook, a military gun carriage from the heart of the capital.

According to an independent Namibian newspaper, mourners had arrived since early.

Did they add that they waving the flag and sang songs in his memory, including Sam Ouli Peni? (Sam, where are you?) – A popular national anthem since the post-independence era in 1990.

Among the senior officials in attendance were the presidents of neighboring countries Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Njoma, one of the ten children of a peasant family, worked on the railways during his political education in the late 1940s. He developed a passion for politics and longed to see his people from the injustice and insults of colonialism.

He led a long battle for freedom from South Africa, which was then under the control of white minorities and helped him find a liberation movement known as the Southwest Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in the 1960s.

As the first president of the country, where he served for 15 years until 2005, Njoma has been widely praised for ensuring peace and stability. His national reconciliation policy encourages the country's white community to remain, and they still play a major role in agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

He also defended the rights of women and children. This included having fathers pay for the maintenance of unmarried children.

Namibia, known at the time as Southwest Africa, was under German occupation from 1884 to 1915, when Germany lost its colony in World War I.

It then fell under white South African rule, spreading racist laws to the country, denying political rights to black Namibians, and limiting social and economic freedoms.

The introduction of drastic apartheid laws led to the 1966 War of Guerilla Independence.