Gibeon: Vice President Lucia Witbooi on Monday called on Namibians, particularly the youth, to uphold unity and safeguard the country's hard-won freedom as the nation commemorated the Cassinga Massacre.

According to Namibia Press Agency, delivering the keynote address at a Cassinga Day commemoration in Gibeon, Witbooi said the events of 4 May 1978 remain one of the darkest chapters in Namibia's history, when more than 600 Namibians, including women and children, were killed in an attack by the apartheid South African Defence Force on a SWAPO refugee camp at Cassinga in southern Angola.

She said the scale of the attack shocked the international community and helped galvanise global support for Namibia's liberation struggle, ultimately contributing to the country's independence in 1990.

Witbooi described Cassinga Day, observed annually on 4 May, as both a moment of mourning and a symbol of resilience, noting that the sacrifices of those who died strengthened the resolve of the Namibian people to achieve freedom.

'The blood of the Cassinga martyrs nourished the tree of our independence,' she said, adding that their legacy continues to guide the nation's pursuit of unity, justice and democracy.

The vice president paid tribute to survivors, bereaved families and war veterans by lighting candles together with Hardap Governor, Riaan McNab, war veteran, Ben Boois, and former Namibian ambassador to Zambia, Salomon Boois, saying their sacrifices laid the foundation for a sovereign Namibia governed by the rule of law.

She urged Namibians to preserve the memory of Cassinga as a moral compass and called on young people to learn from history and actively participate in nation-building.

Witbooi further emphasised the need to address ongoing socio-economic challenges, saying true freedom must be accompanied by opportunity, inclusion and shared prosperity.

She cautioned against division along ethnic, political or social lines, warning that such divisions would undermine the unity fought for during the liberation struggle.

'Let us commit to One Namibia, One Nation, and protect our peace and unity with the same determination with which they were achieved,' she said.

Witbooi concluded by reaffirming the government's commitment to justice, inclusivity and national cohesion, saying the legacy of Cassinga imposes a duty on all Namibians to build a future worthy of the sacrifices made.