BY – FAISAL IQBAL | WINDHOEK | 19 SEPTEMBER 2026
Windhoek, September 17, 2026 – At a solidarity event with the Cuban people, held at the Nampower Convention Center in Windhoek, the President of Namibia, Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, affirmed that the cordial relationship between Namibia and Cuba is not the product of recent diplomatic expediency or shifting geopolitical interests, but rather a friendship forged through the shared sacrifices of both peoples, long before Namibian independence. Ministers, members of parliament, diplomats, business leaders, representatives of religious institutions, and other key figures, totaling more than 400, filled a hall adorned with the Cuban national flag.
In her keynote address, the president recalled that when the Namibian people, led by SWAPO, rose up against apartheid, Cuba heard their cry for freedom and responded firmly to the moral call of justice. She paid tribute to the Cuban men and women who shed their blood in southern Africa, whose courage helped shatter the myth of apartheid’s invincibility. Addressing the island’s economic challenges posed by the genocidal U.S. blockade, she called for Cuba’s removal from the unilateral lists that restrict its access to international banking and development assistance, asserting that no nation should be denied prosperity for having chosen an independent path.
During the event, organized by the Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Dr. Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare, and attended by Vice President Lucia Witbooi, the President of the National Assembly, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, and the Secretary General of SWAPO, Sophia Shaningwa, the work of the National Committee of the “Namibians in Solidarity with Cuba” Campaign, promoted by the Namibia-Cuba Friendship Association and the Sam Nujoma Foundation, was recognized. Dr. Kangulohi Helmut Angula, Chairman of the Committee, affirmed that “Cuba is not alone.” Cuban Ambassador Sergio Vigoa de la Uz thanked the government, the Prime Minister, and especially the President of Namibia for honoring this expression of friendship between our nations with their presence. He denounced the extraterritorial nature of the blockade and the executive orders that consider Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” and referred to the 34th consecutive UN exercise denouncing this policy.
In a special moment, Mire Christof, a graduate of the Cuban university, expressed her gratitude on behalf of the thousands of Namibian children and young people educated in Cuba, stating that the island was essential to their professional and personal development. The speakers recalled Fidel Castro’s legacy; the president quoted the Commander: “A revolution is a struggle between the past and the future,” and encouraged everyone to contribute to the solidarity of a people who broke with the old order and embarked on a revolution that profoundly transformed the life of the country and became a symbol of sovereignty, dignity, and resilience for the entire world.
Source: Cubaminrex-Embassy of Cuba in Namibia
