Namibian President Hage Geingob has died at the age of 82 at a hospital in the capital, Windhoek, where he was receiving medical treatment. This was according to a statement from acting President Nangolo Mbumba.
Geingob passed away just after midnight, around 12:04 a.m. ET, on Sunday at Lady Pohamba Hospital with his wife, Monica Geingos, and his children by his side. The statement was posted on the president’s account on X, formerly Twitter.
Geingob was receiving treatment at the hospital after revealing in January that he had been diagnosed with cancer. According to his office, he had returned last Wednesday from a trip to the United States, where he was undergoing a two-day treatment as part of a medical trial.
“His medical team, as I informed the nation only yesterday, has been trying its utmost best to ensure that our president recovers. Regrettably, notwithstanding the team’s spirited effort to save his life, sadly, fellow Namibians, President Geingob passed on,” Mbumba said.
Mbumba appealed to the nation to “remain calm and collected” while the government makes state arrangements and preparations, saying further details will be announced later.
He said the cabinet had convened “with immediate effect to make the necessary state arrangements in this regard.”
Geingob had served as president since 2015 and was currently in his second term. He also served as the country’s first prime minister, a position from 1990 to 2002 under former President Sam Nujoma after Namibia gained independence from South Africa.
