Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Hage Geingob paid a tribute to emeritus Bishop Dr. Zephania Kameeta, in celebration of his Servanthood Leadership, referring to him as “one of the extra-ordinary personalities in the Namibian history” and explained that the Bishop not only impacted the lives of the Namibian people, but also impacted his journey to presidency.
The tribute, which was delivered by the Vice-President, Dr. Nangolo Mbumba on behalf of the President, was made at the Ecumenical Service in Mariental that was organised by the Governor of the Hardap Region, Reverend Salomon April, under the designation of Servititus Excellentia.
Geingob stated that Bishop Kameeta is “a true servant leader with an impeccable pedigree of service, a model Namibian Patriot, a non-tribalist, an inclusive nationalist, incorruptible and simply a man who will sacrifice himself for the well-being of the less fortunate”. He further stated that he first met the Bishop in 1970 at the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) in Lusaka in Zambia, where Geingob served as Director, during exile.
At that meeting, Geingob recalled, the Bishop addressed UNIN students and said “leadership is not like wearing a necklace around one’s neck, it comes with responsibilities”. According to the President, that statement stuck in his memory and greatly influenced his understanding of leadership as he learned that leadership is not about showing off, but it comes with responsibilities and requires humility, transparency and accountability.
Geingob further explained that when he was awaiting the outcome of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) Party Congress Electoral College, in which he was one of the candidates, not many people wanted to be associated with him.
However, the President explained, Bishop Kameeta was one of the few who did not mind being associated with him and when the Bishop took the stage at the Congress Hall in Windhoek, he said, “My wife and I are here to talk about Hage, the Hage that we know, not the Hage you have created.”
According to the President, that statement “struck up an ever present chord of strength and resilience” in him as he would refer back to it whenever people made unkind, negative comments about him.
“It was with this history in mind, knowing the selfless personality of Bishop Kameeta and his pureness of heart, that when I became President and decided to set up the Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, he was the natural choice for this heavy national assignment,” Geingob continued.
The President further explained that Bishop Kameeta made a tremendous difference in the lives of thousands of Namibians through his ministry’s well-designed programs and interventions, such as the food bank, and when his ministry closed and its functions were subsumed by the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Bishop Kameeta did not complain but accepted it with a stride of unselfishness.
“I am indeed honoured to know him and have worked with him for such a long time. If only, many of us in Namibia could learn from his remarkable modest life the golden lessons he has imparted through action and speech, our Namibian House would quickly truly become a haven of inclusivity, prosperity, peace and love in which all Namibians would feel assured to exercise their full human resource potential with much confidence,” Geingob said.
