“No Plan to Run in This Year’s Election”, Says Namibia Interim Prez Mbumba Namibia's Nangolo Mbumba, who took over as interim president of the southern African country on Sunday after Hage Geingob died in office after a brief battle with cancer.
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Namibia's Nangolo Mbumba took over as interim president of the southern African country on Sunday.
WINDHOEK: Namibia’s Nangolo Mbumba, who took over as interim president of the southern African country on Sunday after Hage Geingob died in office, said he had no plans to run in elections due at the end of the year.
That means Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who replaces Mbumba as vice president and was nominated by the governing South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) just over a year ago to be its candidate, will remain on the ballot.
If she wins, she will be the southern African nation’s first female president.
“I am not going to be around for the elections so don’t panic,” Mbumba said in a move that is rare among African leaders who have often sought to retain power once it is in their hands.
“My aim was to be a school principal, which I achieved and now I have to thank the Namibian people for the honour they have bestowed on me to be their president, for a short period,” Mbumba said at his swearing-in ceremony.
Acceptance Speech by His Excellency President Dr. Nangolo Mbumba, 4 February 2024
Fellow Namibians.
I accept with humility, the noble assignment bestowed upon me, that of appointment as the President of the Republic of Namibia, in accordance with Article 29 read together with… pic.twitter.com/OaOZKxvIRC
— Namibian Presidency (@NamPresidency) February 4, 2024
SWAPO’s constitution forbids making changes once the candidate has been picked two years before the poll is due.
The party has ruled Namibia – a mining hotspot with abundant diamonds, uranium and also lithium needed for electric car batteries – since independence from South Africa in 1990.
Geingob, in power since 2015, died aged 82 in the early hours of Sunday after a brief battle with cancer.
“It is poignant and reassuring to note that today, even in this time of heavy loss, our nation remains calm and stable,” Mbumba said. “This is owing to the visionary leadership … of president Geingob who was the chief architect of the Namibian constitution.”
SWAPO’s constitution forbids making changes once the candidate has been picked two years before the poll is due.
The party has ruled Namibia – a mining hotspot with abundant diamonds, uranium and also lithium needed for electric car batteries – since independence from South Africa in 1990.
Geingob, in power since 2015, died aged 82 in the early hours of Sunday after a brief battle with cancer.
“It is poignant and reassuring to note that today, even in this time of heavy loss, our nation remains calm and stable,” Mbumba said. “This is owing to the visionary leadership … of president Geingob who was the chief architect of the Namibian constitution.”
-Nyasha Nyaungwa
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