Namibian President Hage Geingob dies aged 82
Namibia's President Hage Geingob, 82, died in hospital early Sunday, the presidency announced, weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. The message on social networking site X did not specify the cause of death, but late last month, the President announced that he will fly to the united states for treatment after being diagnosed with cancer after a routine medical check-up.
According to the presidency, Geingob died at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek while being treated by his medical staff. In 2014, while serving as prime minister, he informed the nation that he had overcome prostate cancer. He became president the next year. The southern African country is set to conduct presidential and legislative elections at the end of this year.
According to the presidency, Geingob died at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek while being treated by his medical staff. In 2014, while serving as prime minister, he informed the nation that he had overcome prostate cancer. He became president the next year. The southern African country is set to conduct presidential and legislative elections at the end of this year.
Geingob was elected vice president of the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) in 2007, after joining it as an independence activist when namibia was still known as South West Africa.
SWAPO has held power in namibia unopposed since independence. The former German colony is formally classified as an upper middle-income country, yet there are significant wealth differences.
"There were no textbooks to prepare us for accomplishing the task of development and shared prosperity after independence," he remarked in a 2018 address commemorating the day. "We needed to build a namibia in which the chains of the injustices of the past would be broken."
Geingob was commerce and industry minister before becoming prime minister again in 2012.
He won the 2014 election with 87% of the vote, but in a subsequent november 2019 poll, he just survived a runoff with slightly more than half the votes.
That election came after a government bribery scandal in which officials allegedly handed horse mackerel quotas to Iceland's largest fishing enterprise, Samherji, in exchange for payments, according to local media sources. The resulting outrage prompted the resignation of two ministers.
SWAPO has held power in namibia unopposed since independence. The former German colony is formally classified as an upper middle-income country, yet there are significant wealth differences.
"There were no textbooks to prepare us for accomplishing the task of development and shared prosperity after independence," he remarked in a 2018 address commemorating the day. "We needed to build a namibia in which the chains of the injustices of the past would be broken."
Geingob was commerce and industry minister before becoming prime minister again in 2012.
He won the 2014 election with 87% of the vote, but in a subsequent november 2019 poll, he just survived a runoff with slightly more than half the votes.
That election came after a government bribery scandal in which officials allegedly handed horse mackerel quotas to Iceland's largest fishing enterprise, Samherji, in exchange for payments, according to local media sources. The resulting outrage prompted the resignation of two ministers.