Sam Nujoma

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Sam Nujoma (2003)
Sam Nujoma Monument in front of the Independence Memorial Museum , (2014)
Sam Nujoma statue in the Independence Memorial Museum

Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma (mostly just called Sam Nujoma , born May 12, 1929 in Ongandjera near Okahao , South West Africa , today Namibia ) was President of the Republic of Namibia from March 21, 1990 to March 20, 2005 . His official title today is " Founding Father of the Namibian Nation".

Life

His parents, Daniel Uutoni Nujoma and Helvi Mpingana Kandombolo, have a total of ten children. From 1937 to 1945 Nujoma attended the Okahao Mission School, then an evening school in Windhoek . At the same time he started working for South African Railways in Windhoek. On May 6, 1959, he married Kovambo Theopoldine Katjimune, with whom he has four children, one of whom died 18 months after birth. Various book publications seem to confirm that Nujoma also has illegitimate children. On November 27, 2008, his mother, the "grandmother of the nation," died at the age of 108.

Nujoma's son Utoni Nujoma is also politically active and has been Namibia's Minister for Land Reform since 2015 .

In 2004 he graduated with a Masters in Geology from the University of Namibia after four years of study and research.

Political activity

The beginnings in the mandate area of ​​South West Africa

In 1959 Nujoma became chairman of the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO), the predecessor organization of SWAPO . As a leading member of the OPO, he organized protests against the relocation of the Old Location (uprising at the "Old Shipyard") to Katutura in Windhoek in December 1959 and was arrested.

The years in exile

On May 1, 1960, Nujoma went into exile in Bechuanaland (now Botswana ) . He spent the following years in different countries such as Tanzania , Zambia and Angola . On August 26, 1966, the guerrilla war against the South African authorities in Namibia began .

Reports from several independent book publications also date from this period that Nujoma was deeply involved in violent, intra-party disputes and murders of political competitors, deviants and (real or supposed) traitors during the years in exile (see also the NAMRIGHTS documentation ).

The war in Angola

Main article: Angola Civil War

In addition to Cubans and military advisers from the entire Eastern Bloc and from North Korea , the SWAPO, under its Secretary General Sam Nujoma, as an ally of the communist MPLA, with its own combat units of the so-called People's Liberation Army (PLAN), was involved in the Angolan civil war. SWAPO built Lubango (Sá da Bandeira) into one of its military centers in Angola. Among other things, the People's Liberation Army maintained the Tobias Hainyeko training camp there . Various prisons and a torture center were attached to the military camp under the command of the future Chief of Staff of the Namibian Army , Solomon Hawala . During the political purges of the 1980s, mainly members of national minorities who did not belong to the Ovambo people and intellectuals were arrested there. Most of the prisoners were sentenced on the basis of fabricated charges. The "confessions" had previously been obtained through torture (sometimes lasting for months).

According to the later General Secretary of the opposition Congress of Democrats (CoD / Congress of Democrats ), Kala Gertze , the purges were never about the pursuit of spies. Rather, people were systematically arrested who could have endangered the SWAPO leadership's claim to power at the time. Particularly after the commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLAN), Peter Nanyemba, was arrested and accused of wanting to overthrow Sam Nujoma as party leader, a real paranoia broke out.

Some of those sentenced were shot or imprisoned in prisons such as the Ndilimani prison or the so-called Ethiopia prison (both near Lubango / Angola) under inhumane conditions, in which they sometimes had to live in holes in the ground for years. After Namibia's independence and with it the first free elections under the umbrella of the UN, the political prisoners became a burden for SWAPO, which wanted to govern the country in the future. Kala Gertze, for example, blames Sam Nujoma and Solomon Hawala for the fact that shortly before independence, well over two thousand people had disappeared from the SWAPO torture camps without a trace.

In this context, serious allegations were also made against the churches and the UN , which had been informed for years about the political prisoners of SWAPO and their treatment, but had persistently remained silent for opportunistic reasons.

Namibia's independence

At the end of May 1983, SWAPO President Nujoma called on UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar to work with South Africa and SWAPO on a ceasefire and implementation of UN Resolution 435 to end the (according to the UN General Assembly) illegal administration of the area Negotiating South Africa. It was not until March 19, 1989, that Nujoma was able to sign a ceasefire agreement with South Africa that paved the way for UN Resolution 435.

The years as President of Namibia

Poster about the fight against AIDS with Nujoma

Nujoma was elected first President of Namibia on February 16, 1990 and sworn in by UN Secretary General Pérez de Cuéllar on March 21, a symbolic date commemorating the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 . Nujoma was re-elected twice, in 1994 and 1999 .

During the years of his presidency, he had his supporters in the single-ruling SWAPO party change the constitution to allow him a third term as president. His foreign policy turn to dictatorial and despotic regimes, such as those of Fidel Castro in Cuba , Robert Mugabe's in Zimbabwe or the regime of Kim Jong Ils (until 1994 Kim Il Sung ) in North Korea , aroused increasing opposition from the democratically-minded public and from international donors.

His reign is also marked by a lavish use of public money, which largely comes from development aid and international grants (especially from Germany ). The building of pompous service mansions for government members and high party officials was also criticized, such as the purchase of expensive state limousines and two government aircraft, including a Dassault Aviation Falcon 900. However, this criticism was without further consequences because Nujoma acted within the framework of this, what the black African governments are accredited by international donors as common or traditional government corruption.

Towards the end of his tenure, he arranged for the construction of a new state house on the outskirts of Windhoek, which replaced the old state house of the president in the city center. The entire construction project, in which, for “safety reasons”, Namibian construction companies were largely left out in favor of the “friendly” North Koreans , is highly controversial. An official tender did not take place and the construction costs were never published.

Although Nujoma's accusations arose towards the end of his term of office, alleging that the governing SWAPO and thus also the president had irregular elections and even falsified elections , his popularity, especially among his most loyal supporters from the Ovambo people, seemed unbroken - despite massive and partly well-founded allegations of corruption and although he repeatedly used verbal, racist attacks against the white and colored minorities of the country in order to discredit political opponents. Examples such as that of his former companion Hidipo Hamutenya show that this could also affect political competitors from within his own ranks .

In the parliamentary elections on November 15, 2004, the ruling SWAPO party Sam Nujomas again achieved over 75% of the votes cast. Although this election again had irregularities, which resulted in the partial cancellation of election results by the Supreme Court, it can be assumed that the SWAPO continues to enjoy by far the greatest support in the population, especially among its regular electorate among the people of the Ovambo has.

After fear of damaging Namibia's international reputation in the event of a further constitutional amendment in favor of Nujoma, President Sam Nujoma did not stand for a further, fourth term in office, after the National Union of Namibian Workers had previously requested this.

As the successor to the office of president, Hifikepunye Pohamba was inaugurated on March 21, 2005.

Serious allegations in the Caprivi conflict

Flag of the Caprivi African National Union (CANU) for a Free State of Caprivi
Main article: Caprivi conflict

To this day it has not been fully clarified what role Sam Nujoma played in the years 1998 and 1999 in the suppression of the separatist uprisings in the area of ​​the Caprivi Strip . According to information from independent human rights organizations such as Amnesty International , the following police and military actions to crush the liberation movement on the part of the Namibian security forces led to serious violations of elementary human rights and international martial law and to torture against prisoners.

Sam Nujoma and his SWAPO government are accused by human rights organizations of breaking international agreements and treaties for the protection of human rights as well as breaking the Namibian constitution . It took five years for the prisoners to be heard at all, and to this day the prisoners have been held (for over ten years now) without a judicial judgment and so far with no prospect of a regular trial. Many of the prisoners have now died in the prisons.

After the end of the term of office as President

As President of SWAPO, Sam Nujoma remained largely active in politics. During this time, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) split off in 2007. At the SWAPO party congress from 27.30. November 2007 Nujoma was replaced as SWAPO President by Hifikepunye Pohamba and then withdrew from the political day-to-day business, while at the same time resigning his offices in the Politburo and Central Committee of the party.

In 2007, the President of the National Society for Human Rights (NGfM; now NAMRIGHTS ), Phil ya Nangoloh , announced that he would seek a trial against Sam Nujoma before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague . With this lawsuit, Nangoloh wanted to force clarity about the disappearance of numerous SWAPO dissidents and the investigation of political murders during the time in exile . Phil ya Nangoloh himself had been arrested and tortured several times by the SWAPO secret police at that time .

In addition to the former President Nujoma has NGfM against former Defense and later Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina , former Chief of Staff of the Namibian army Lieutenant General Solomon 'Jesus' Hawala and Colonel Thomas Shuuya , temporary commander of the First Battalion of the Namibian armed forces action for human rights violations filed, the to have taken place before Namibia's independence and to some extent afterwards. Solomon Hawala was during the eighties, head of the notorious SWAPO - torture center in Lubango in Angola .

The result was a large-scale campaign by the SWAPO Politburo and its political preparatory organizations such as NUNW, the SWAPO Youth League and the Namibia National Students Organization against government critics . This campaign was directed primarily against the human rights activist Phil ya Nangoloh , the editors-in-chief of the newspapers The Namibian and Windhoek Observer , as well as the opposition Congress Democrats (CoD) , the organization Namibian Forum For The Future (FFF) and subsequently also against the newly founded opposition party Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) , which consists mainly of dissatisfied, former SWAPO members and who now accuse the SWAPO leadership of wanting to establish a dictatorial regime . Internationally known scientists, such as Mugabe critic Joseph Diescho , were also threatened and were no longer allowed to appear publicly in state spaces (such as the university ).

While the SWAPO aid organizations mainly engaged in verbal and physical attacks and threatened the use of armed force against political critics ( SWAPO Youth League Secretary General , Elijah Ngurare : "We have not yet forgotten how to handle the bazooka ."), the incumbent President Hifikepunye Pohamba urged the Nujoma critics with harsh words to leave the country.

Anti-church and racist statements

In mid-June 2009, the former President of Namibia asked the SWAPO party youth to take up arms and, as he put it, “chase the colonialists out of the country”.

In June 2009 Nujoma attacked the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (DELK) and accused it of “having collaborated with the enemy before independence and possibly still being an enemy”. He also said: “We tolerate them. But if they don't behave we will attack them. And when they then call their white friends from Germany, we shoot them in the head. "

In September 2009, during a speech in northern Namibia, Nujoma repeatedly verbally attacked Americans, British and Germans and urged his supporters: "As soon as you see an Englishman, hit his head." He added, as before in June 2009: "... that Germans unwilling to cooperate should be shot in the head."

Awards

medal

Honorary title

Honors

See also

Movies and books

Web links

Commons : Sam Nujoma  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Conferment of Status of Founding Father of the Namibian Nation Act, 2005. Parliament of the Republic of Namibia, 2005.
  2. ^ Grandmother of the Nation Passes Away . In: The Namibian , November 27, 2008
  3. a b c d e f Sam Nujoma Foundation: Biography Sam Nujoma . on www.samnujomafoundation.org (English)
  4. Namibia National Society for Human Rights ( Memento from September 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. Namibians want to chase away Germans . In: Welt am Sonntag , September 1, 2002
  6. I will never let the Lubango issue rest as long as I live . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , November 20, 2006
  7. ^ Prisoners of their solidarity - The Swapo internment question and the Namibian churches . ( Memento from September 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) In: afrika süd , No. 4, 2003
  8. Martin Pabst: Peace for the Southwest? Experiment Namibia . All-German publishing house, 1991, ISBN 3-928415-01-8
  9. Müller becomes Castro . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , March 12, 2002
  10. Presidential pension raises concerns . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , October 7, 2004
  11. ^ Nepotism slows economic development . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , April 18, 2006 - Interview with MEP Stefan Gahler (EPP)
  12. State House always costs more . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , December 2, 2004
  13. Invited and locked out . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , April 27, 2006
  14. Construction costs are controversial . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , March 26, 2008
  15. ↑ The election has consequences in court . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , November 25, 2004
  16. Militant apology . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , January 22, 2002
  17. Entry Pohamba . ( Memento from December 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , March 22, 2005
  18. New cabinet known . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , March 22, 2005
  19. NAMIBIA: Justice delayed is justice denied - The Caprivi treason trial . At: Amnesty International , Report of August 3, 2003
  20. ^ Henning Melber: Namibia's forgotten political prisoners . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , July 31, 2009
  21. Namibians want to chase away Germans . In: Welt am Sonntag , September 1, 2002
  22. ya Nangoloh justifies himself . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , August 30, 2007
  23. All-round blow against Nujoma critics . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , September 14, 2007
  24. ^ Warning of the regime of fear . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , September 4, 2007
  25. From verbal violence to mob baiting . ( Memento from December 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , August 13, 2007
  26. ^ SWAPO party youth warned . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , May 14, 2007
  27. We shoot them in the head . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , June 17, 2009
  28. ^ New tirades of hate from Nujoma . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Windhoek , September 22, 2009
  29. a b c SWAPO: Founding father of the Namibian Nation . at www.swapoparty.org (English)
  30. a b c d e f g h i John Nauta: Awards to H. E Dr. Sam Nujoma . on www.samnujomafoundation.org (English)
  31. List of South African Order Holders 2018 thesouthafrican.com (English), accessed on 23 August 2018