Latest news with #UniversityofNamibia
Russia Today
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
African state interested in nuclear cooperation with Russia
Namibia considers Russia a reliable partner and is interested in cooperating with it in a variety of fields, including nuclear energy, the vice chancellor of the University of Namibia (UNAM) has stated, according to the African Initiative news agency. Frednard Gideon reportedly made the remarks at the 'Russia-Africa: Nuclear Education—Potential for Successful Regional Development' forum, which took place on Friday at Peoples' Friendship University (RUDN) in Moscow. 'Namibia is the world's fourth-largest producer of uranium. We started mining it in 1976. Uranium is produced, but it is immediately exported. Many foreigners come to Africa and take everything,' Gideon is quoted as saying. 'Russia is a reliable and equal partner. That is why we are interested in cooperation,' the Vice Chancellor added. The Southern African country and Moscow established diplomatic relations on March 21, 1990, and have since developed cooperation in the political, economic, trade, and humanitarian spheres. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced following talks with his Namibian counterpart Peya Mushelenga last March that the two countries are aiming to boost trade and investment in various sectors. Lavrov highlighted opportunities for cooperation in mineral resources, energy, agriculture, tourism, and healthcare. In November, Mushelenga told RT on the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum that a joint technical team has been set up to explore geophysics and geochemistry in order to unearth some potential minerals. Namibia. Russia's presence in Africa has grown in recent years, with several countries referring to Moscow as a trustworthy ally, despite accusations from some Western governments, including France, that the Kremlin is pursuing a predatory agenda on the continent. On February 19, the Russian government announced an agreement with Ethiopia to develop cooperation in the use of nuclear technology for 'peaceful purposes.' Speaking at the nuclear education forum on Friday, South African lawyer Nkazimulo Moyeni said, 'Russia remains a reliable partner that shares technology and knowledge.' 'The topic of nuclear energy is stigmatized. We must show that it is not only a weapon but also a tool for peaceful development that can save lives and improve the quality of life for people across the African continent,' Moyeni said. The event, organized by RUDN and the Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom, has been taking place since 2020 and aims to promote nuclear education in partner countries, as well as increase interest and trust in nuclear technology.
Al Jazeera
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Sam Nujoma, Namibia's ‘founding father' and first president, dies aged 95
Sam Nujoma, the revolutionary leader who guided Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years, has died at 95. Hailed as Namibia's 'founding father', Nujoma passed away on Saturday night following a three-week hospitalisation in the capital, Windhoek, according to the Namibian presidency. 'The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken,' the presidency said in a Facebook post announcing his death. There will be a period of 'national mourning', it added. Nujoma was revered in his homeland as a charismatic father figure who steered his country to democracy and stability after long colonial rule by Germany and a bitter war of independence from South Africa. He was the last of a generation of African leaders who led their countries out of colonial or white minority rule that included South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Zambia's Kenneth Kaunda and Mozambique's Samora Machel. Nujoma headed the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) that led the liberation struggle since its inception in 1960. While SWAPO has remained in power since independence, Nujoma finally quit in 2007 at the age of 78, two years after standing down from the presidency. Many Namibians credited Nujoma's leadership for the process of national healing and reconciliation after the deep divisions caused by the independence war and South Africa's policies of dividing the country into ethnically based regional governments. Even his political opponents praised Nujoma – who was branded a Marxist – for establishing a democratic constitution and involving white businessmen and politicians in government after independence. He was also known for his fierce anti-Western rhetoric and railing against homosexuality, which he called a 'foreign and corrupt ideology' and AIDS disease 'a man-made biological weapon'. But while he succeeded in establishing democratic institutions and moving forward with reconciliation, his autocratic tendencies cast a shadow over his legacy, said Ndumba Kamwanyah, a lecturer at the University of Namibia and a political analyst. 'While Nujoma's presidency was foundational in establishing Namibia's independence and governance, it was not without flaws,' said Kamwanyah. Rise to power Born to poor farmers from the Ovambo tribe in a tiny village in northwestern Namibia in 1929, Nujoma traced the awakening of his political consciousness to his teenage years when he moved to the harbour town of Walvis Bay. Arriving aged 17, he lived with an aunt in a Black township and was privy to adult conversations about the plight of Black people under white-minority rule. The eldest of 10 children, Nujoma's first job was as a railway sweeper near Windhoek in 1949 while he went to night school, according to an autobiography published in 2001. It was there that he was introduced to Herero tribal chief Hosea Kutako, who was lobbying to end apartheid rule in Namibia, then known as South West Africa. Kutako became his mentor, shepherding the young Nujoma as he became politically active among Black workers in Windhoek who were resisting a government order to move to a new township in the late 1950s. At Kutako's request, Nujoma began life in exile in 1960, first to Botswana, leaving his wife and four children behind. The same year, he was elected president of SWAPO, later shuttling from capital to capital in the quest for support and launching a low-level armed struggle in 1966. It took more than a decade of pressure from Nujoma and others before a United Nations Security Council resolution in 1978 proposed a ceasefire and elections. Another decade went by for the ceasefire deal to be signed and elections held in late 1989. SWAPO won a majority in those elections, and Nujoma took office in March 1990. On retirement from the presidency, he enrolled for a master's degree in geology, believing that Namibia's mountains contained untapped mineral wealth. 'Nujoma provided maximum leadership to our nation and spared no effort to motivate each and every Namibian to build a country that would stand tall and proud among the nations of the world,' said the presidency.
