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The South African Communist Party (SACP) dips its red flag and pays tribute to Namibian liberation struggle stalwart, President Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma.

The SACP conveys its message of heartfelt condolences to his family, particularly his wife Utoni Nujoma, the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) and the people of Namibia for the loss.

President Nujoma led the people of Namibia during the most difficult moments of their liberation struggle until the country’s liberation in 1990. By this time, our struggle, in close co-operation with SWAPO, forced the apartheid regime to concede to negotiations. Paving the way for this and the advanced march to the liberation of Southern Africa was the defeat of the apartheid regime in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola, where Cuba played a decisive role.

Nujoma worked tirelessly to unite the Namibian people as they faced the racist apartheid South African regime, establishing SWAPO’s military wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia, in 1962, and waging a relentless war for the liberation of the Namibian people until they triumphed. 

SWAPO was part of the revolutionary forces that made an indelible contribution to the defeat of the apartheid regime, both in South Africa and Namibia, as well as fighting against apartheid influence across the southern African region, and continues to unite the Namibian people in their desire to build their country and eliminate the legacy of apartheid and colonialism.

For his contribution to the struggle for peoples’ liberation, President Sam Nujoma was acknowledged in various countries as well as national and international institutions, receiving multiple prestigious awards. These include the Soviet Union, where he was awarded the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace Among Peoples in 1973; Vietnam, where he was honoured with the Ho Chi Minh Peace Prize in 1988; and the Order of José Martí, which he received in Cuba in 1991, among many others. 

For his unwavering opposition to the government of apartheid South Africa, President Nujoma was honoured with the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo in South Africa.

In paying tribute to Comrade Sam Nujoma, the SACP reiterates its support for the Namibian people’s efforts to develop their country further, grounded in national sovereignty and self-determination. In this respect, the SACP will strengthen its ties with its historical ally, SWAPO.

The SACP calls for the unity of the African peoples in the fight against imperialism, for the right to self-determination. The masses of our people remain impoverished across the board, while a few, both national and foreign exploiters, are becoming richer out of the exploitation. The SACP reiterates its call for African continental unity to continue and deepen the struggle to advance the African Revolution in honour of the exceptional founders and leaders of our national liberation movements, of whom President Sam Nujoma was an indefatigable force.

Further, the SACP is committed to the rejuvenation of the African Left Networking Forum to unite the African people in the fight for social emancipation. This is crucial for our African struggle against imperialism. Building the African Left Networking Forum is urgently necessary. Africa is not fully independent yet, because of persisting imperialist domination and exploitation of its resources and people.

Issued by the South African Communist Party,