Shixwameni’s last words: Keep on going forward

KENYA KAMBOWE RUNDUAll People’s Party (APP) president Ignatius Shixwameni – who collapsed and died yesterday while attending a meeting at Parliament - on Tuesday evening told his party’s secretary-general Vincent Kanyetu to “keep on going forward”.Shixwameni, the firebrand secretary-general of the Namibia National Students Oranisation (Nanso) at the dawn of independence, was a Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) leader from 1987 to 1999, and died at the age of 55.He was attending a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs alongside other parliamentarians when he collapsed and died shortly afterwards.“He came at least 10 minutes late and sat down. After a few minutes, he said ‘I don’t feel too good, I am going outside’.“After the session, we came out and found him lying outside with people surrounding him. Someone told us that he had collapsed there,” a parliamentary source told Namibian Sun yesterday.A Swapo Central Committee member by virtue of being SPYL secretary, he was elected to Parliament in 1999 as a member on the ruling party’s ticket, but quit to join the Congress of Democrats (CoD) in 2000 as their chief whip.After leaving CoD amidst squabbles regarding the party’s 2007 congress, Shixwameni formed APP and became its president in 2008.Tributes have started pouring in, with yesterday’s parliamentary session suspended in the politician’s honour.ShockedKanyetu, who was in Gaborone attending a conference when he heard about the untimely death of his party president, said he was shocked by the news.“The last time we spoke was yesterday where he asked how the conference was going. We also agreed he was going to record a short video clip that I could have shown the people here.“Yesterday he never complained of any pain, like the way he did most of the time. I am shocked and I don’t know what to say now,” he said.In a message of condolence, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) said they join the rest of Namibian nation in mourning his passing.Swapo member of parliament, Toby Aupindi, also expressed his condolences.“I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Shixwameni. It was truly a pleasure working with him. He will be a deeply missed and I offer my deepest condolences to his family,” he wrote on Twitter.TragicMeanwhile, Landless People’s Movement (LPM) member of parliament Utaara Mootu described his death as a tragic event for Namibia.“Honourable Shixwameni was the President of Nanso in 1988 and 1989. He played a pivotal role to deliberate our people, a young militant giant during our struggle. I was honoured to have known him and tap into his wisdom. This is a tragic and sad day for our nation,” she tweeted.A number of citizens from across of the country also shared messages of condolences on various social media platforms.kenya@namibiansun.com

Shixwameni’s last words: Keep on going forward

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-23

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Shixwameni’s last words: Keep on going forward

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-23

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