All People’s Party member Marcellus Haivera said the late Ignatius Shixwameni was humble and groomed him and many young people to be active in politics.
Shixwameni died aged 55 after collapsing during a parliamentary standing committee meeting in Windhoek on Wednesday.
Haivera described him as a family member, role model and a humble, astute politician who championed democracy.
It is reported that Shixwameni died while attending the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security and that the National Assembly sitting yesterday was called off in his honour.
Haivera said the family, the party and the country lost a son of the soil who contributed fearlessly to the liberation and independence of the country.
“Shixwameni will definitely be remembered for serving the country in various leadership roles and most importantly for the formation of the APP.”
Haivera said because of his leadership characteristics, Shixwameni was able to form and grow the APP membership in all corners of the country with the majority membership in the two Kavango regions.
“Shixwameni was a very peaceful person, truthful and a unifier. Anger was not one of his traits. Young people have a lot to learn and emulate from someone who spent his entire youth fighting for the liberation of the country,” he said.
The APP will also remember Shixwameni for introducing a motion in parliament in 2012 to discuss the implementation of what he termed a Basic Poor Household Income Grant, which sought to provide a safety net for poorer households, thus clearly outlining Shixwameni’s commitment to the downtrodden in the country.
Shixwameni was born in Shambyu in the Kavango East Region. He was a student leader of the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) at the dawn of independence. He was also a Swapo youth leader from 1987 to 1999 and a Swapo central committee member from 1992 to 1997. Elected to parliament in 1999 as a member of the party, he joined the opposition CoD in 2000 as their chief whip.
Shixwameni resigned from the CoD in December 2007, along with 21 other members. He founded a new party, the APP in October 2009 which elected him as president of APP until his death.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
