Namibian president sworn in

2005-03-21 12:06

Windhoek - President-elect Hifikepunye Pohamba was sworn in on Monday as Namibia's second president since independence, succeeding veteran leader Sam Nujoma who held power in the southern African country for 15 years.

Pohamba, 69, a fellow veteran of Namibia's struggle against apartheid South African rule, took the oath to uphold the constitution before 20 000 people assembled at a stadium in Windhoek.

"We have a new president," Chief Justice Peter Shivute proclaimed after Pohamba was sworn in at a ceremony attended by several African heads of state including South African President Thabo Mbeki.

76% majority

Pohamba, who served as lands minister under Nujoma, won 76.4% of the vote as presidential candidate for the ruling Swapo party in the November 15 and 16 ballot on a campaign that called for continuity.

In the weeks leading up to the Swapo presidential nomination convention, Nujoma had thrown his weight behind Pohamba as the candidate of choice for the ruling party.

For Namibians, the historic handover of power marked the end of an era with the departure of Nujoma from the top post although the 75-year-old leader will continue to influence politics as Swapo party president.

A German colony until World War I, Namibia, then known as South West Africa, was ruled by apartheid South Africa as a de-facto province, which it used as a springboard to stage military operations against SWAPO and Marxist Angola from the mid-1970s onward.

Following a major battle in the southern Angolan town of Cuito Cuanavale which ended in April 1988, South Africa began pulling its troops out of Angola and Namibia, setting the wheels in motion for Namibian independence in 1990.

- AFP