I remember him smiling that day in March a decade ago when he agreed to speak with Prensa Latina at the foundation that bears his name in Windhoek, the capital of that southern African nation.
With simplicity, the main architect of Namibia’s independence expressed “I want to say thank you” as if it were the first time he had expressed that feeling when referring to his gratitude for Cuba’s contribution to the freedom that his country currently enjoys.
During the interview he expressed his admiration and affection for the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, to whom he gave the credit for having been the strategist of that historic epic.
He also dedicated a good part of his words to the Cuban internationalist fighters “who fought side by side with the Namibians and Angolans.”
He confirmed he was almost certain that without the active participation of the Cuban troops “we would not have been able to defeat the racist army of South Africa.”
In his office everything was in order: books, photos, flags, furniture and, perhaps, even a certain level of hierarchy. He confessed that many of his memories were there. “My photo with Commander Fidel in Havana,” he pointed to a picture placed on a small circular table as if to emphasize that it was something very special and immediately his memory went back to the days of the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988.
It was “Fidel (who) was commanding all the actions from Havana. That was true,” Nujoma said as if he were reliving those days when all the troops “eliminated the enemy in two seconds.”
Referring to the heat of the battle, he said that “for the Namibian and Angolan forces, Cubans were our brothers and sisters and it was their drive that led to the liberation of Namibia.”
The undisputed leader of SWAPO (first a national liberation movement and then a political party), Nujoma suffered 30 years of exile.
After the proclamation of independence on March 21, 1990, he was acclaimed as the first president of the new Namibia, a position he held. until 2005.
At that time he said he felt happy “because we are free in this country, we have control over our own affairs.” “There is nothing more important than being able to control your destiny,” he said.
He also commented on the role that education should play in the development of a country and the great differences since they left “an apartheid regime with a differentiated education system for the benefit of the white population and not for the Namibians who lived here.”
He insisted that life is a constant struggle, that nothing is enough in that sense, and when asked if he would ever return to Cuba his answer was: “Yes, for sure. Someday I will go to Havana. I want to return to Havana” and in a conspiratorial tone he confessed to me that “I have visited it many, many times.”
ef/oda/dfm
