Julia Heita
As the nation laid to rest its Founding President and Father of the Nation, Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, his widow, Madame Kovambo Nujoma, stood at the heart of the nation’s mourning.
In a message read on her behalf by Nashilongo Shivute, Kovambo shared a deeply personal tribute to the man she loved, the leader she stood beside, and the father of their children.
“He would come home, greet me first, and hold my hand, his voice full of affection as he asked, ‘Meekulu ouli nawa?’ And I would respond, ‘Iii Presidente, turi naua. Ove ua kotoka naua,” she said .
These small moments of love, she said, were the treasures she would hold close forever.
Kovambo reflected on their journey together from the early years of the liberation struggle to life as Namibia’s first family and finally to the loss of her husband.
Kovambo recalled meeting Sam Nujoma in the 1950s, during the height of apartheid.
“I was visiting Walvis Bay, and there he was, a young, vibrant, dynamic, and wise man whose presence commanded attention,” she said.
Despite the racial and tribal divisions imposed by the colonial regime, their love flourished, and on 6 May 1956, they got married.
“Not just as husband and wife, but as partners in a shared vision for Namibia’s freedom,” she said.
Kovambo said that long periods of separation brought about by Nujoma’s leadership in the liberation struggle repeatedly tested their love.
“Through all the tensions and political trials, my husband remained steadfast, resolute, and unwavering in his belief that Namibia would one day be free,” she said.
While the world knew Nujoma as a revolutionary, Kovambo knew him as a “protector and a father.”.
Kovambo said her husband’s absence, caused by the demands of the struggle, meant that she carried the burden of raising their children under constant surveillance and harassment by the apartheid regime.
“When the harassment became unbearable, I made the difficult decision to join him in exile in Zambia in 1978, accompanied by our youngest daughter, Usuta, and several nieces and nephews. It was a perilous journey, but love and hope propelled me forward,” she recalled.
On 21 March 1990, when Namibia gained independence, Kovambo stood beside her husband as he was sworn in as the country’s first president.
It was the moment they had both dreamed of, proof that their sacrifices had not been in vain, she said.
With her husband’s encouragement, Kovambo stepped into her leadership role as First Lady of Namibia.
“He believed in me, instilling confidence in my abilities and encouraging me to undertake any project during my tenure,” she said.
With the support from her husband, Kovambo established the Child Survival Protection and Development Foundation to support and nurture the development of our nation’s children.
Kovambo acknowledged the pain of his final months.
“The last six months were difficult for my family and me, but even then, my husband remained a source of encouragement. Despite his poor health, he would always return home after every medical procedure, filling our home with hope and anticipation,” she said.
On 8 February, that journey home did not happen as Nujoma took his final journey to his eternal rest.
The couple had six children: Utoni, John, Nefungo, Nelago, and Usuta. They also had 23 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
John and Nelago passed.
