(BBC) Revered as “father of the nation” and the icon of Namibia’s liberation struggle, Sam Nujoma lived up to these expectations in more ways than one.
His warm, broad smile and easy-going manner made him likeable and accessible.
Whether donning a tracksuit to join a fun-run along Windhoek’s Independence Avenue, or insisting his driver hang back from official motorcades, he aimed to be a man of the people.
Now, four decades after leading Namibia through a bitter guerrilla war against South Africa’s racist apartheid government and on to independence, Nujoma has died aged 95.
He died on Saturday after being in hospital for three weeks due to “ill health”, President Nangolo Mbumba announced in a statement, adding that the death had “shaken” the country.
Credit: BBC