(Reuters) -Sam Nujoma, the activist and guerrilla leader who became Namibia’s first democratically elected president after it won its independence from apartheid South Africa, died aged 95 on Saturday, the Namibian Presidency said on Sunday.
Nujoma rose to head the thinly populated southern African country on March 21, 1990 and was formally recognised as “Founding Father of the Namibian Nation” through a 2005 act of parliament.
“The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken,” the presidency posted on X.
“Our venerable leader, Dr. Nujoma did not only blaze the trail to freedom – but he also inspired us to rise to our feet and to become masters of this vast land of our ancestors.”
Nujoma served three terms as president from 1990 to 2005 and sought to project himself as a unifying leader bridging political divides.
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and William Mallard)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.