Sam Nujoma

Sam Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma (born in 1929) is the first president of the independent Namibia, elected and re-elected between 1990 and 2005. Born on May 12th 1929 in the South-western African, then under South-African mandate, Sam Nujoma is interested very young person in the policy and engages in the independence combat.

In the years 1950, he becomes the president of the organization of the people of African South-west (South West African People' S Organization - SWAPO) and starts to take share with the armed struggle against the colonial power, the South Africa.

Since the beginning of the years 1950, South Africa managed African South-west according to the principles and the laws of the Apartheid, classifying the population between races and dividing the territory between indigenous reserves and rich or fertile grounds reserved for the white.

Nujoma brought the SWAPO to the armed struggle and clandestinity with the beginning of the year 1960.

He managed to make recognize the SWAPO with the the United Nations as only legitimate representative of African South-west renamed Namibia in 1968 whereas the international organization put an end to the South-African mandate.

Forced to the exile, the SWAPO and Nujoma never managed to occupy a millimetre of the Namibian territory during all the armed struggle. Worse, in 1975, South Africa sends a military quota to invade the Angola, the base camp of the SWAPO.

In spite of the failure of the armed struggle, Nujoma was maintained with the head of the organization, supported by the Marxist modes of Angola, Cuba and especially of German Democratic republic (GDR).

In 1988, an agreement under the aegis of Nation-Plain, resolution 435, is concluded between the belligerents and leads to the withdrawal of the Cubans of Angola and the South-Africans of Namibia.

With the elections of the autumn 1989, supervised by UNO, the SWAPO carries the victory with 57% of the votes thanks to its establishment in the tribe of Ovambos (55% of the population).

March 21st 1990, Sam Nujoma lends oath as a president of the Republic of Namibia under the eyes, inter alia, of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, general secretary of the United Nations, Frederik de Klerk, president of South Africa and Nelson Mandela, just released of prison.

Profiting from the majority necessary, Nujoma makes change the constitution to carry out one 3rd 5 years mandate in 1999 when he is re-elected besides with 76,8% of the votes.

In 2004, under pressure of the SWAPO, it gives up modifying the constitution once again and chooses a successor, Hifikepunye Pohamba, which is comfortably elected in November 2004.

Sam Nujoma does not remain about it less the chief of the SWAPO until in 2007.

Although Marxist, Nujoma applied upon the departure a policy moderated in an unfavourable international context to the Communist regimes.

Its plan of land reform is initially one cannot more consensual between white and blacks.

However, with the beginning of the year 2000, noting the strong demand of the blacks in cultivable ground search, he proposes a new reform much more authoritative but the land reform similar and disastrous, then in progress with the Zimbabwe and carried out by his/her friend Robert Mugabe, suspends the application of it.

At the end of its mandate, omnipotent and turned sour Nujoma is mislaid in insults homophobes, or racists against the white, and even against its rivals in the SWAPO, such Hidipo Hamutenya, dismissed of its post of Foreign Minister two days before the congress of the SWAPO of May 30th, 2004 which was to choose the candidate with the presidential election. Its unconditional support for Mugabe then sullies the reputation with Namibia making fear a Zimbabwean contagion in Namibia.

Its departure of the capacity intervenes then at a good moment for the stability of the country, even if it continues in the shade to draw the strings from the government. In 2006, a delegation of the SWAPO come to ask him to yield her place of President of the SWAPO to Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, caused the fury of Nujoma, which answered them by an end not to receive before leaving while claquant the door.

Anecdotes

The name of Sam Nujoma is very current in Namibia in the Toponymie of the main arteries of the cities:

Following the purchase of a plane of Falcon luxury by Nujoma in 1992, which was revealed by the newspapers a few weeks after Namibia launched a call to the international assistance against a severe dryness, Norway suspended its financial aid with the country.

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