Who was Hage Geingob? Cause of death & all you need to know as Namibia's president dies aged 82

Hage Geingob, the president of Namibia, passed away on Sunday morning, February 4. The 82-year-old president was diagnosed with cancer and seeking treatment at Windhoek's Lady Pohamba Hospital, where he passed. He passed away surrounded by his wife, Madame Monica Geingos, and his children. Nangolo Mbumba took over as the acting president for the time being.

An official statement from the Namibian president's office called Gingbob the "chief architect" of the constitution of Namibia. Apart from being president, Geingob has also previously served as the prime minister of Namibia. The country is all set to hold its presidential and parliamentary elections in November of this year.

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Namibian President Hage Geingob passes away due to cancer

On Sunday, January 4, the official social media of the Namibian president released a sad announcement. The President of the Republic of Namibia, Dr. Hage G. Geingob, passed away at around 00:04 a.m. at the Lady Pohamba Hospital. His wife and children surrounded him at the time of his passing. Acting president Nangolo Mbumba released the statement.

The 82-year-old had announced only three weeks ago that he was undergoing medical treatment as cancerous cells were discovered in his body while doing a gastroscopy and colonoscopy. Later in January, an announcement detailed that he was set to undergo a Seven Day Specialized Medical Treatment in the United States of America.

According to another announcement, the president returned from the U.S. on January 31, following a two-day novel treatment for cancerous cells, which was still in a trial phase. Hage Geingob was admitted to the Windhoek hospital after his return and was set to undergo the totality of the cancer treatment in Namibia.

Although the president was given a clean bill of health before assuming the position in 2015, Hage Geingob, the third president of Namibia, has been plagued with many health struggles. It was only in June of last year that Geingob underwent an aortic operation. He also underwent brain surgery in 2013 and revealed he had beat prostate cancer in 2014.

The 82-year-old Hage Geingob is a former apartheid activist turned political and is quite a famous and beloved figure in Namibia. Picking up activism from a young age against the oppressions of the apartheid regime of South Africa that once ruled over Namibia, he was exiled for around three decades to Botswana and the United States.

After Namibia gained its independence in 1990, Geingob became a politician and served as the country's prime minister for 12 years and later came back to the position in 2012. According to Study.com, over 50% of Namibia's population consists of members of the Ovambo ethnic group. After winning the 2014 elections, Geingob became the first non-Ovambo Namibian president.

Nangolo Mbumba revealed in the statement that the cabinet would convene immediately to make the necessary state arrangements about the president's death. The statement read,

"The Namibian nation has lost a distinguished servant of the people, a liberation struggle icon, the chief architect of our constitution and the pillar of the Namibian house."

It added,

"At this moment of deepest sorrow, I appeal to the nation to remain calm and collected while the Government attends to all necessary state arrangements, preparations and other protocols."

Hage Geingob's death came with only a few months left for the Namibian presidential and parliamentary elections, set to take place in November 2024. Geingob would not have been eligible to compete in these elections due to the president completing his maximum allowed two-term limits.