Remembering Penehupifo Pohamba: Pohamba served as nurse without pay while first lady-Nandi-Ndaitwah

Former First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba continued providing nursing services without pay for three years while serving as Namibia’s First Lady, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah revealed at her memorial service in Windhoek on Saturday.

Paying tribute to a woman she had known since 1963, Nandi-Ndaitwah said Pohamba devoted more than 35 years to healthcare, serving communities during colonial rule, the liberation struggle and after independence.

“Penehupifo did not measure service by what it brought her; she measured it by what it gave to others,” she said.

The memorial service at Parliament Gardens brought together family members, national leaders and friends to honour Pohamba's contributions to healthcare, the liberation struggle and vulnerable communities.

Nandi-Ndaitwah has accorded Pohamba a special funeral in recognition of her service and contribution to Namibia's social and national development.

Information minister Emma Theofelus announced that another memorial service would be held on Friday, 30 October, followed by the funeral on Saturday, 31 October, at Okanghudi village in the Ohangwena Region.

The Presidency, through the secretary to Cabinet, will coordinate arrangements in consultation with the family and relevant stakeholders.

Nandi-Ndaitwah recalled meeting Pohamba at Odibo in 1963, describing her as a quiet young woman, brilliant student and talented netball player.

“Long before the titles, long before the ceremonies of State, there was that young woman in Odibo, with her gifts, her discipline and her future still before her,” she said.

Pohamba, who was older than Nandi-Ndaitwah and ahead of her at school, subsequently entered nursing at St Mary's Mission Hospital in Odibo.

She later went into exile, receiving further nursing and midwifery training in Tanzania and Jamaica respectively. Her medical skills enabled her to care for sick and wounded people during the liberation struggle, sometimes working amid shortages of medical supplies.

“As a midwife, she stood beside mothers at their most vulnerable moment,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said. “She welcomed babies into a world still waiting for Namibia to be free.”

Her commitment to healthcare continued after independence and throughout her years as First Lady from 2005 to 2015.

Widows and windowers

Nandi-Ndaitwah said Pohamba's work extended beyond nursing into humanitarian initiatives supporting women, children, people with disabilities and families affected by HIV and AIDS.

Through OEWONA, an organisation she founded and served as patron, Pohamba supported more than 10 000 widows, widowers and orphans affected by HIV and AIDS.

She also led the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS and supported rural women through the Mukwamhalanga Tukondjeni Community Trust.

The President said these initiatives reflected Pohamba's lifelong commitment to helping people facing hardship, particularly those whose circumstances often left them without adequate support.

Nandi-Ndaitwah also recalled her final conversation with Pohamba during a hospital visit on 7 October, when the former First Lady asked her to take a photograph and send it to her husband.

“I did as directed, not knowing it might be her last photo,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said, suggesting that the request may have been her way of saying goodbye to her husband and children.

She urged the bereaved family to find comfort in their memories and encouraged Namibians to honour Pohamba by continuing her commitment to helping vulnerable people.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said Pohamba's greatest legacy lay not in the honours she received but in the mothers she assisted, children she helped protect and families she supported during difficult times.

“That is a legacy no medal can contain.”

A mother's compassion

Delivering a tribute on behalf of the children, Ndapanda Pohamba remembered her mother as someone who believed children deserved guidance and understanding, particularly when they made mistakes.

She said her mother had a soft spot for children facing difficult circumstances and encouraged parents to help them learn from their mistakes rather than withdraw their love and support.

“A mistake should never become a sentence of abandonment,” Ndapanda said.

“We could approach mama with our worries and challenges, knowing she would guide us to what was right.”

Ndapanda said her mother's compassion extended beyond her own family to people who needed encouragement, protection and guidance.

“The values she shared with the community were the same values she practised at home,” Ndapanda said.

“She taught us that compassion is not something we speak about, it is something we show through our actions.”