Namibian founding president Sam Nujoma is laid to rest and praised as the last African liberator

Namibia’s founding president, Sam Nujoma, who steered the country to freedom from apartheid South Africa, was laid to rest in the country’s Heroes Acre cemetery on Saturday following a state funeral attended by African leaders and foreign dignitaries.

Mourners from all corners of the country began to gather as early as 6 a.m. to pay their final tributes to a man they knew as their “founding father,” an anti-apartheid activist who served three terms as president from 1990 to 2005.

Nujoma died on Feb. 8 at age 95 after spending three weeks at a Windhoek hospital. His widow, Theopoldine Nujoma, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were in attendance.

“He was a pillar of strength and a fountain of wisdom in the family. Although we could not have him around us all the time, we nevertheless understood very well that he embodied and personified the liberation struggle for Namibia’s freedom and