Namibia’s President Geingob dies after cancer diagnosis

February 4, 2024 1

[ad_1]

The president of Namibia Hage Geingob has died at the age of 82, the presidency said on Sunday.

He died in hospital early on Sunday, just weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer.

“At his side, was his dear wife Madame Monica Geingos and his children,” the presidency statement said.

His vice President Nangolo Mbumba now takes over as president until presidential and parliamentary elections at the end of this year.

“Cabinet will convene with immediate effect in order to make the necessary state arrangements in this regard,” he said in a statement.

Announcement of the Passing of H.E Dr @hagegeingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, 04 February 2024

Fellow Namibians,

It is with utmost sadness and regret that I inform you that our beloved Dr. Hage G. Geingob, the President of the Republic of Namibia has passed on… pic.twitter.com/Qb2t6M5nHi

— Namibian Presidency (@NamPresidency) February 4, 2024

– — –

Geingob became president in 2015, the same year he announced he had survived prostate cancer. He was was serving his second and final term in office.

The cause of his death has not been made public but late last month the presidency said he had travelled to the United States for “a two-day novel treatment for cancerous cells”, after being diagnosed following a regular medical check-up.

Geingob was born in 1941, and became a prominent politician even before Namibia achieved independence from white minority-ruled South Africa in 1990.

In 2007, he served as vice president of the governing South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO).

He had joined the organisation as an agitator for independence when Namibia was still known as South West Africa.

SWAPO has remained in power in Namibia unchallenged since independence. Namibia is a former German colony, a mining hotspot with significant deposits of diamonds and the electric car battery ingredient lithium.