‘He wanted to retire and tour the world’

“He was very much energetic, strong and he had a beautiful dream, he was saying he wanted to retire and tour the world.”

These were the words of Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, who said Geingob had expressed this to her before he fell ill.

Hanse-Himarwa was the chairperson of Geingob’s campaign team from 2012 to 2019.

Her team played a pivotal role in Geingob’s ascent to both the party and the country’s presidency.

In an emotional interview with Desert Radio this week, Hanse-Himarwa struggled to contain her emotions as she spoke about the death of president Geingob, who she described as a compassionate leader.

Tears streamed down her face as she reflected on the impact he had on her life and the nation.

“I wouldn’t want to say farewell to Geingob, I would have wanted him to stay with us for a longer period of time. He was very much energetic, strong and he had a beautiful dream. He was saying he wanted to retire and tour the world.

“He said he wanted to enjoy his farm. These are the things he was saying and I am sure he was also not ready to go now because he had so many things he wanted to do.

“If I have to say something, I will have to say well done, good son of the Lord. You have accomplished your mission. That is the reason why I will allow him to rest in peace,” she said.

The Namibian recently reported that Hanse-Himarwa was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.

“Since I was diagnosed, he was sick with me, stood with me and supported me financially, emotionally and in every way,” said Hanse-Himarwa.

“When president Geingob left for the United States of America, I texted him saying: ‘Go with God. We are standing behind you. Your sickness is our sickness, and your health is the nation’s health. We will see you shortly’.

“He requested the first lady to text me back and say: ‘Katrina, you are too kind. While you should be worried about your health, you are worried about mine. I receive your words and accept them dearly,” she said.

Hanse-Himarwa was found guilty of graft allegations in 2019 and had to resign as the minister of basic education, arts, and culture.

Geingob died in the early morning hours of 4 February, a month after announcing he had been diagnosed with cancer.
He was 82 years old.

Last week, Hanse-Himarwa told The Namibian when Geingob ran for the presidency, party members were afraid to come out openly in support of him.

“We were only a small group. The fear had to do with Geingob being the first non-Oshiwambo speaking candidate standing for the Swapo presidency. For the first time, we saw salient tribalism in the country and the party.”

She said the idea of a non-Oshiwambo-speaking president was first lauded publicly by the late deputy minister of youth, national service and sport, Kazenambo Kazenambo, in 2010 and would become a litmus test for Swapo, a predominantly Oshiwambo speaking peoples’ party, on whether democracy and unity across all lines were real.

“I came out when a local newspaper called me and asked me whether I support Geingob and I said, ‘Yes, so what?’ I mean this was a person who would not condemn a person who condemned him.

“While knowing who was speaking ill of him and there was a chance for him to deal with that person, he would say the positive things he knew about that person and would discipline us from being nasty. Thereafter, people started coming out to form his team, said Hanse-Himarwa.

This team comprised the late Nicky Iyambo, current president Nangolo Mbumba, Pohamba Shifeta, Obeth Kandjoze, Amos Shiyuka, Neville Andre, Marius Sheya, James Uerikua, Margaret Mensah-Williams, Sacky Shangala, Kisco Sinvula, Stevo Leukes Masilo, Vincent Likoro and Peter Katjavivi, as the most prominent and who in turn formed Geingob’s inner circle.

“Hage put his trust and loyalty in this team. We did the same. We led a very technical type of political campaign to gain him the presidency. We were very undermined coming from a minority group with an unprecedented candidate,” said Hanse-Himarwa.