WINDHOEK, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Namibia has declared three days of mourning in honor of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro who died Friday aged 90.
President Hage Geingob said this in his speech delivered in Havana Tuesday where he was attending Castro's the memorial service.
Geingob is accompanied by two former presidents Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba as well as the Swapo Party secretary general Nangolo Mbumba.
"As part of our collective homage, Namibia has declared three days of national mourning in honor of Fidel Castro," Geingob said, adding, "We are here in good conscience to bid farewell to a man whose legacy will never die and to honor a country whose debt we can never repay."
According to Fidel, Geingob said, helping with the liberation of the oppressed should never be for economic gain, but only to gain in conscience.
"That is why we are here. Our Founding Father and leader of the Namibian revolution, comrade Sam Nujoma as well as our second President, Comrade Hifikepunye Pohamba have both accompanied me to pay Namibia's respect to Cuba," he said.
Geingob recalled how Castro helped Namibia repel the apartheid South African defense forces in battles that later brought the country's independence in 1990.
He spoke about the Cassinga Massacre of 1978 when South African forces attacked a refugee camp in Angola killing hundreds of Namibians.
"The first responders to this scene of brutality and death were the gallant Cuban forces who came to our rescue. It was in our defense in which Cuban soldiers lost their lives and limbs. After the attack, Cuba was the first country to provide education facilities at the Island of Youth for 3,000 surviving children of the Cassinga massacre," he said.
He said although Namibia has forgiven its enemies, it will never forget our friends.
"The Cuban people are our friends. Fidel is our friend. Now and forever," he said.
