EDITORIAL: What will Mbumba’s presidential legacy be?

Like his three predecessors, President Nangolo Mbumba’s legacy as head of state will inevitably be discussed at some point. A liberation struggle icon in his own right, Mbumba was thrust into the hot seat of the presidency under sad circumstances after the death of then president Hage Geingob.

The aftermath of his unorthodox ascendance sparked a heated debate about whether he was an acting president or a substantive one. Ultimately, he was declared the fourth and substantive head of state.

With that verdict came obligations. While he would only have served for a year before stepping down after this election, questions about his legacy – even as a ‘weekend special president’ – will inescapably pop up.

Someone recently remarked, perhaps jokingly, that Mbumba could leave his mark by doing something abrupt and radical, such as ensuring that the Independence Stadium – which has become a sore indictment on our sports fraternity – is repaired before he disappears into retirement.

So far, Mbumba has been a continuity president, maintaining the flow and pace that he found in motion when he took over. True, he was already vice-president and therefore a part owner of whatever was happening in the country under Geingob. But with his ascendancy came expectations that he would carve out his own legacy by tweaking certain things into his own image. Only an acting president would seek to keep things as they were under their predecessor.

Mbumba’s unquestionable liberation credentials will not shield him from scrutiny as head of state, just like Sam Nujoma, Hifikepunye Pohamba and Geingob couldn’t use their pre-independence heroics to distract us from their performance as government leaders.