Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah described the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro as a “friend of Africa” whose internationalist commitment helped alter the course of Namibia’s liberation struggle.
Speaking at State House during commemorations of Castro’s centenary birth, marked across Africa and Latin America this week, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the occasion was “not merely commemorative, but deeply personal” for Namibians.
“We honour the legacy of a man whose life became inseparable from the struggles of oppressed peoples across the world,” she said. “A revolutionary whose vision extended far beyond the shores of Cuba to embrace the aspirations of Africa. A statesman whose unwavering commitment to justice helped alter the course of our own history.”
The President said Namibia’s liberation was directly linked to Cuba’s support under Castro, describing Cuba as “not a distant voice of solidarity” but “a steadfast comrade in our struggle for freedom, independence and human dignity.”
“It is impossible to recount the story of Namibia’s liberation without acknowledging the immeasurable contribution of Cuba,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah highlighted the 1988 Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola as a defining turning point, calling it “the biggest battle on African soil since the Second World War” and proof that “Apartheid’s military machine could be resisted and defeated.”
She said the battle accelerated Namibia’s path to independence and hastened the fall of Apartheid.
“Thousands of Cuban soldiers travelled thousands of kilometres from their homeland, not in pursuit of territory, wealth or political domination, but in defence of the freedom and dignity of peoples they had never met,” she said. “They came because they believed that the struggle against colonialism, racism and Apartheid was a common struggle of humanity.”
Quoting the late President Hage Geingob, she noted that Cuba “did not assist Namibia in pursuit of mineral resources or some other sources of wealth. They had no imperialistic ambitions. They did so out of principles of fairness, equality and respect for the freedom of all people around the world.”
“Every Namibian child born in liberty walks upon a freedom purchased not only through the sacrifice of our own heroes and heroines, but also through the sacrifice of the sons and daughters of Cuba,” she said.
The President said the bond forged “in the trenches of struggle” continues today through cooperation in health, engineering, town planning and sports. Cuban doctors and other professionals, she added, continue to serve in key sectors of national development.
She described Castro’s legacy as rooted not only in military or political achievements, but in a “profound commitment to humanity” and the belief that every person deserves dignity, education, healthcare and opportunity.
Turning to present-day Cuba, Nandi-Ndaitwah condemned the more than six-decade US economic, commercial and financial embargo, which she said had been “intensified in recent days.”
“Behind every statistic lies the lived reality of ordinary people: a mother searching for essential medicine, a family striving to provide for their children,” she said. The greatest cost, she argued, was measured in “deferred dreams, constrained opportunities and the quiet resilience of a people who have refused to surrender hope.”
Namibia, she said, maintains that unilateral coercive measures are incompatible with UN principles.
“We therefore underline our principled call for the complete and unconditional lifting of the economic embargo against Cuba. No nation should be punished for exercising its sovereign right to determine its own political, economic and social path,” the President said.
She reaffirmed Namibia’s commitment to the values that defined Castro: solidarity, justice, equality and human dignity.
“To the people of Cuba, our brothers and sisters, we extend once again the enduring gratitude of the Namibian people. Namibia remembers. Namibia honours. Namibia stands with you,” she said.
“May the enduring legacy of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz continue to illuminate the path towards justice, peace and human dignity for generations yet to come.”
Fidel Castro Ruz was born on 13 August 1926. He led the Cuban Revolution in 1959, served as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and as President from 1976 until his retirement in 2008. He died on 25 November 2016.
Photo: Namibian Presidency
