Remembering Penehupifo Pohamba: ‘She never saw the need to change’

Former first lady Penehupifo Pohamba had a message for her eldest daughter, Ndelitungapo Shiluwa-Marino, as her strength began to fade in the final weeks before her death.“Look after your brothers and sisters,” Shiluwa-Marino recalled her mother telling her during a conversation in September.Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Shiluwa-Marino remembered her mother saying: “My body is getting tired and growing weaker by the day, but I'm okay. Be there for your siblings.”Pohamba died on Saturday, 17 October, at the age of 78.Shiluwa-Marino said that even as her mother grew weaker, her thoughts stayed with the family she would leave behind, particularly her husband, former president Hifikepunye Pohamba.Long after the couple left State House in 2015, her husband remained her priority, her daughter said.But behind the public figure who championed women's rights, maternal healthcare and the welfare of vulnerable Namibians was a woman who loved gardening, cooking pork trotters and making her family laugh.Behind the scenesShiluwa-Marino remembered her mother as a fun-loving parent who valued discipline and good principles without being unnecessarily strict.“She was not a strict mom, but rather a fun one, fun in her principles and values,” she said.Pohamba particularly enjoyed gardening and growing vegetables, while cooking was another passion.Pork, especially pork trotters, was among her favourite dishes.“She knew how to cook it so well,” her daughter said, adding that her mother’s sense of humour was just as memorable. She enjoyed joking about ordinary things and filling the home with laughter.Always true to herselfWhen her husband assumed the highest office in the land in 2005, Pohamba became one of Namibia’s most recognisable women, but this did not change how she related to her family.“My mother never changed when she became first lady of Namibia. She remained the same mother, sister, wife before public life,” Shiluwa-Marino said.“For her, it was just a bigger platform, but I would say the transition was seamless. She just never saw the need to change.”Her daughter described a woman who could not tolerate seeing others being treated unfairly.“If she noticed someone mistreating another, she would come to their defence,” she said.Although naturally reserved, Pohamba did not let her shyness prevent her from carrying out responsibilities.“She was a shy person by heart, but when given an opportunity to speak or do things, she did them proudly, bravely and diligently,” Shiluwa-Marino said.From liberation camps to State HouseBorn on 16 June 1948 at Okatale in the Ohangwena region, Pohamba’s life took her from Namibia's liberation struggle to the country's highest executive office.She underwent military training while in exile and worked in camps accommodating Namibian refugees.Her medical training in Tanzania and Jamaica prepared her for a career as a nurse and midwife, a profession that would remain close to her heart.Pohamba first married Malakias Shiluwa in 1969, and the couple had two children.After Shiluwa’s death, she married Hifikepunye Pohamba in 1983. They had three more children.When she became first lady in 2005, she brought her nursing background and her concern for vulnerable people into public life.In November that year, she helped establish the Organisation for the Empowerment of Widows, Widowers and Orphans of HIV/AIDS in Namibia (OEWONA), which supported families affected by the epidemic.She also participated in the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS, later serving as its president.Between 2006 and 2008, while she was still Namibia's first lady, she continued working as a nurse at a local clinic without charging for her services.Her contribution to public service was recognised in 2014 when she received the Most Brilliant Order of the Sun, First Class.Yet for Shiluwa-Marino, the titles and honours never defined her mother.The woman who stood alongside Namibia's then president at official engagements was the same woman who tended her vegetables, prepared her favourite meals and defended anyone she believed had been wronged.And when her strength began to fail, it was not public recognition or her years at State House that occupied her thoughts, but the family she had spent her life nurturing.Pohamba is survived by her husband and five children.

Remembering Penehupifo Pohamba: ‘She never saw the need to change’

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-20

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Remembering Penehupifo Pohamba: ‘She never saw the need to change’

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-20

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