The former president, Hage G Geingob is to be buried on Sunday the 25th of February 2023, as we draw nearer to the day, more and more people are curious about who this man was, the legacy he left and the successor to his office. In what turned out to be nearly clandestine, the Zenze page got access to the inauguration of the vice president who is being elected in accordance with Article 34 of the constitution of Namibia.
Article 34 requires the vice-president to take over as the interim president in circumstances such as the present one. President Mbumba will be the interim president until a new president is elected.
The Zenze team is no island to this curiosity, and so on the 4th of February 2024 a teammate found herself at this inauguration, hearing about the man, the legacy and the successor from some of those who were closest to him would beat a Google search rabbit-hole. It was without a doubt the type of nerve wrecking adventure for the young journalist, that makes it into an individuals’ “Hi, that’s me, I bet you’re wondering how I got here…” life reels. The room was top-full of dignitaries, head-officials from the NDF, Correctional Services and Police, not to mention members of the very slight 1% in Namibia.
“I just wore the face of someone who was meant to be in the room, broken camera in one hand and a phone on just 2% in the other…I just knew I had to be there,” she recounted a story that’ll make a good analogy for overcoming imposter syndrome someday. None apart from a keen-eyed correctional services official questioned her presence there after noticing that her camera wasn’t working. The room was sullen, sure, a new leader was being promoted, a woman becoming the first female vice-president of the nation, the occasion had all the elements of a celebration, but the circumstances that led to this were the undertone of the entire proceeding.
The somberness of it all was unavoidable, with congratulations delivered in light of shoes that needed to be filled rather than a new job attained. To say, “no pressure,” to President Mbumba would be like pointing at the eggshells surrounding his current role, and to say that to the newly elected Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the first female vice-president of Namibia would be like telling her “hey, there’s a nail under one of these eggshells you’re treading on.” President Nangolo Mbumba has said that he will not be running for office in the November 2024 elections, and further added that even though he’s become president, he’d only ever dreamt of becoming a school principal, when they say “trust the journey” it’s because of stuff like this, you never really know how far that trust can take you, a title humbly claimed in light of the departure of his predecessor. Vice-President Nandi-Ndaitwah additionally takes up the role of the new presidential candidate for the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO).
The Minister of Information Communication and Technology has announced that President Hage G Geingob will be buried at the Heroes Acre in Windhoek on Sunday 25 February and the event is set to be broadcasted to the nation. Presidential elections will be held in November 2024 and youths all across the nation are becoming engaged in civic action and voters are highly encouraged to go through the manifestos of the parties to make informed decisions as voters.
Follow us on instagram @zenze_blog for more updates on what we’re up to and listen here for the latest podcast episode.
ZENZE 