Mourning period for Namibia’s president starts today

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The Government of Namibia has announced that the mourning period for late President Hage Geingob will start today until the date of the funeral, which is yet to be announced.

The 82-year-old died in hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning, weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer.

In a statement, the Information Ministry in Namibia says during the mourning period, the national flag and all other flags will be hoisted at half-mast across the country and at Namibian missions around the globe.

Geingob was the third democratically elected President in 2014 and was scheduled to conclude his second and last term this year.

The government of Namibia says funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

Condolences

South Africa’s International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor has expressed her condolences after Geingob’s passing.

She says the late Namibian president stood by South Africa when they approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Israel-Palestine case.

Addressing a gathering at the Masjidul Quds at Gatesville in Cape Town on last night, Pandor said: “He was a good friend. He was a good friend to our country, a wonderful democrat, a freedom fighter, made a huge contribution to our own freedom and worked with us solidly as a close partner on the question of Palestine. In fact, he was so resolute that when Germany expressed its dismay with our case at the ICJ he penned a statement, reminding Germany of the genocide of the Namibian people.”

VIDEO | Council Member of Africa Reach, Dr Criselda Kananda pays tribute to Geingob: