The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has announced that a state funeral for the late Ignatius Shixwameni will be held at the Rundu cemetery (Sarasungu) on 27 November.

A memorial service for Shixwameni, who passed away on 10 November, will take place on 26 November at the Rundu stadium, a statement issued by the ministry on Monday said.

Both the memorial and funeral will be live-streamed on the ministry’s Facebook page.

Shixwameni was born on 04 September 1966 at Shambyu in the Kavango East Region.

He was a student leader and pioneer who advocated for quality education through the Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO) where he was the founding member and later president.

He served as Swapo youth leader from 1987 to 1999 and was 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 before resigning in December 2007, along with 21 other members.

He went on to found a new party, the APP in October 2009, which elected him as its president until his death.

Meanwhile, the ministry advised that the funeral will be conducted under strict compliance with the COVID-19 general regulations on public gatherings, which limits it to 500 people per event.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency