Sam Nujoma was formally recognised as Founding Father of the Namibian Nation in 2005. Credit-AP Photo

Sam Nujoma, the guerrilla commander who led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa, passed away on 9 February at the age of 95. He was buried recently as thousands of Namibians and dignitaries gathered on to honour the life of the country’s independence leader, as nearly a month of tributes culminated in a state funeral.

His casket, which was draped in Namibia’s blue, white, red, and green flag, was transported on a gun carriage to its final resting place at Heroes’ Acre, a mountainous memorial dedicated to the country’s liberation fighters, located outside the capital, Windhoek.

Dignitaries including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, former President Thabo Mbeki and ex-Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete attended the funeral of Nujoma, who rose from herding cattle as a boy to lead the sparsely-populated, mostly desert southern African country on March 21, 1990.

Mourners chat at the end of a memorial service of Sam Nujoma, who became Namibia’s first democratically elected president, at the Independence stadium, in the capital Windhoek. Credit: Reuters

Born into a family of poor farmers from the Ovambo ethnic group, Nujoma was the eldest of ten children. His first job was as a railway sweeper in 1949, during which he attended night classes that sparked his political consciousness. He was working on the railway in the late 1940s when he got a political education and developed a fierce passion for politics and yearned to see his people free from the injustice and indignity of colonialism.

By the late 1950s, he had aligned with black workers in Windhoek resisting a government directive to relocate to a new township.

In 1960, the same year he was elected to lead SWAPO, Nujoma went into exile. SWAPO launched an armed struggle against South African rule six years later, after Pretoria defied a United Nations mandate to relinquish control over the former German colony.

Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba speaks during a memorial service of Sam Nujoma, who became Namibia’s first democratically elected president, at the Independence stadium in Windhoek, Namibia. Credit: Reuters

Following Namibia’s independence in 1990, Nujoma became the nation’s first president, a position he held until 2005. He stepped down as SWAPO leader two years after leaving the presidency.

As the country’s first president – a position he held for 15 years until 2005 – Nujoma is widely credited for ensuring peace and stability. His policy of national reconciliation encouraged the country’s white community to remain, and they still play a major role in farming and other sectors of the economy.

Namibia’s President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, speaks during a memorial service for Sam Nujoma. Credit: Reuters

He also championed the rights of women and children, including making fathers pay for the maintenance of children born out of wedlock.

Namibia, then known as South West Africa, was under German occupation from 1884 until 1915, when Germany lost its colony in World War One.

It then fell under the rule of white South Africa, which extended its racist laws to the country, denying black Namibians any political rights, as well as restricting social and economic freedoms.

Women in traditional Herero dresses wait to view the body during a memorial service for Sam Nujoma at the Independence stadium in Windhoek, Namibia. Credit: Reuters

The introduction of sweeping apartheid legislation led to a guerrilla war of independence breaking out in 1966.

However, he faced widespread criticism and came under international pressure over his intolerance of critical media coverage, diatribes against homosexuality and over the 1998 constitutional amendment allowing him to run for a third term.

Members of the Namibian military arrive carrying the casket with the body of the former president, Sam Nujoma. Credit: Reuters

During his three terms in office, he oversaw a period of political stability and relative economic growth. His approach to combating AIDS earned him international recognition.

Over the past month, thousands of Namibians have paid their final respects as his body was transported across the length of the sparsely populated nation before he was finally laid to rest.