Sam Nujoma was an outstanding Namibian leader who personified more than anybody else the country’s liberation struggle history and independence. His death at the age of 95 marks the end of an era. But his legacy will live on.
Together with Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, he was central in the foundation of the national liberation movement, South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo).
Samuel (Sam) Shafishuna (“lightning”) Daniel Nujoma was born on 12 May 1929 at Etunda near Okahao in northern Namibia in today’s Omusati region, the eldest of 11 children. His childhood was devoted to helping care for his siblings, the family cattle and cultivating the land. From 1937 to 1943 he completed primary school at the Finnish Missionary School at Okahao.
