Constitution was Geingob’s best achievement – Nahas

As the country observes Constitution Day today, former prime minister Nahas Angula said the best moment of late president Hage Geingob’s career was when he successfully chaired the Constituent Assembly, which birthed the globally-respected Namibian Constitution.As chairman, Geingob was also tasked with ensuring that the Constituent Assembly went through a process of confidence-building between people who did not trust each other after the brutal war for independence.Under his chairmanship, the constitution was unanimously adopted on 9 February 1990. “You know, there were too many interests and when things led to a stalemate, [Geingob] would use his discretion and say ‘let us adjourn a bit, go and caucus somewhere else’. That required patience and that is the best moment I had with him.”Angula, who was a member of the same assembly, expressed his sincere condolences towards Geingob’s bereaved family and the nation who lost a leader. Sudden and unexpectedHaving first met Geingob in 1973 in Lusaka, Zambia, Angula said his death was sudden and unexpected.“His passing was so sudden. Many of us cannot understand what happened,” he said.“I first met him in 1973. We served together in the Swapo central committee, politburo and government. We worked together during the transition on 18 July 1989. He was the first prime minister and he was tasked to establish the Namibia Public Service,” said Angula, who vacated the position of prime minister in 2012 to make way for Geingob - who had just been elected Swapo vice-president at that year’s congress.The two men went up against each other at the 2017 congress, where Geingob’s slate emerged victorious. Angula has been a fierce critic of Geingob’s leadership style in recent years, saying he failed to unite the ruling party and struggled to lead the country out of its challenges.During an interview with Namibian Sun at his home in Okalumbu village in the Oshikoto Region, Angula pointed out that many of Geingob’s political slogans did not come to pass.“Be careful about political slogans. Political slogans do not define the character of a person; it is just meant to send a message out there, and it does not necessarily mean he is like that,” he said.“I am quite sure if you call Professor Joseph Diescho today and ask him whether the late president was a unifier, he would give you a different story. Many other people will give you are different story. Slogans are fine, but if you look at the action, their behaviour and how they treat other people, is it just?”EmbarrassmentAngula also differed with a statement Geingob made in late 2023 at State House - that he was leaving Namibia in a better state than he inherited it.“If the youth unemployment is just under 50%, is it a better place to live? I live here in the village, [but] you still find community members coming to me trying to convince me to pay for their children’s school fees. “What I am trying to say is that there is this serious problem of inequality in our communities,” he said.“Poverty is still with us. It is not a nice thing; it is an embarrassment.”kenya@namibiansun.com

Constitution was Geingob’s best achievement – Nahas

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Constitution was Geingob’s best achievement – Nahas

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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