
Namibia’s President Hage Geingob, 82, Passes Away Following Cancer Diagnosis, According to Reuters
By Tim Cocks
JOHANNESBURG – Namibia’s President Hage Geingob, aged 82, passed away in a hospital early on Sunday, as confirmed by the presidency, just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.
Geingob had led the sparsely populated and predominantly arid southern African nation since 2015, the same year he disclosed his battle with prostate cancer.
Following his death, Vice President Nangolo Mbumba will assume leadership until presidential and parliamentary elections are held at the end of the year. Namibia is known for its mining sector, which includes significant deposits of diamonds and lithium, a critical component for electric car batteries.
A statement from the presidency on a social media platform did not elaborate on the cause of death. However, it previously reported that Geingob had traveled to the United States for a short, novel treatment for cancerous cells after he was diagnosed during a routine medical examination.
Born in 1941, Geingob was a key political figure even before Namibia gained independence from apartheid-rule South Africa in 1990. He chaired the constitutional assembly that drafted Namibia’s constitution and became the country’s first prime minister upon independence on March 21, 1990, holding that position until 2002.
In 2007, Geingob took on the role of vice president of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), which he had joined as a pro-independence activist when Namibia was still referred to as South West Africa. SWAPO has retained power in Namibia without challenge since independence. While the former German colony is classified as an upper middle-income country, it faces significant wealth disparities.
"There were no textbooks to prepare us for accomplishing the task of development and shared prosperity after independence," Geingob remarked during a 2018 speech commemorating the occasion. "We needed to build a Namibia in which the chains of the injustices of the past would be broken."
Geingob also served as the minister of trade and industry before returning to the prime minister’s office in 2012. He won the 2014 presidential election with 87% of the vote but only narrowly avoided a runoff in November 2019, securing just over half the votes, which followed a bribery scandal involving government officials and Icelandic fishing company Samherji.
The scandal, which involved allegations of kickbacks for fishing quotas, led to the resignation of two ministers. The subsequent year, Geingob expressed concern that Namibia’s wealth continued to be concentrated among its white minority.
"Distribution is an issue, but how do we do it?" he questioned during a virtual session at an international event. He acknowledged the complexity of addressing historical racial divides, suggesting that direct redistribution would be unfeasible.
Geingob’s comments were made after the government abandoned a policy requiring white-owned businesses to divest 25% of their shares to Black Namibians, deeming it impractical.
He passed away at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek, where he was receiving care from his medical team, according to the presidency.