Founding President Sam Nujoma has paid tribute to Namibia’s first Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Iyambo Indongo, describing him as a seasoned medical practitioner, a freedom fighter and a selflessly principled person, whose aim was to overcome the country’s health challenges, wherever they occurred.

Indongo died on 12 July 2021 at Grootfontein Private Hospital and was buried on Saturday at his farm Omandongo in the Grootfontein area.

He was a veteran of the Namibian liberation struggle, and served as Swapo’s founding secretary of health, as well as Nujoma’s personal physician for many years.

Nujoma described Indongo as an epitome of health professionalism and a relentless freedom fighter, whose involvement in the struggle for Namibia’s liberation started in 1960, when he was elected as Swapo’s deputy treasurer for its Windhoek branch.

“Dr Indongo and Dr Libertine Amathila were our first medical doctors who had to start everything from scratch in order to lay a strong foundation of our health services in exile and train our health personnel such as nurses, while sending others to be trained as medical doctors. Dr Indongo also played a pivotal role in preparing our people to take over the health services in our country after independence,” Nujoma said, adding that it was against this background that he appointed Indongo as his personal physician and the country’s deputy minister of health in independent Namibia.

Thereafter, Indongo was appointed as special advisor to the Ministry of Health and Social Services and in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the liberation of Namibia and his role after independence, he was conferred with the honour of the Grand Order of the Eagle in 2005 and recognised as a veteran of the national liberation struggle.

Source: Namibia Press Agency