R 031521Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0320
INFO SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY C O N F I D E N T I A L WINDHOEK 000037 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2019 
TAGS:        
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH NUJOMA 
 
REF: WINDHOEK 407 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Dennise Mathieu, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
 1. (C) On February 2, Ambassador met with former Namibian 
President and founding father, Sam Nujoma.  Nujoma was in 
good spirits and spoke enthusiastically about the new U.S. 
administration and its potential impact on U.S. foreign 
policy.  He also briefly commented on the state of democracy 
in Namibia and the situation in Zimbabwe.  End Summary. 
 
 2. (SBU) Ambassador paid a courtesy call on Sam Nujoma at his 
office on February 2.  Ambassador had not seen the former 
president since she called on him a year ago.  Nujoma began 
by congratulating Ambassador on the U.S. elections.  He said 
several times during the course of the conversation that 
Namibians were expecting more interaction and more commercial 
trade with the United States as a result of President Obama 
taking office.  He also expressed his hope that he would be 
able to meet with Ambassador more frequently during 2009. 
 
 3. (SBU) When asked about the state of Namibia's business 
climate, Nujoma replied that recent discoveries of additional 
deposits of uranium in Namibia would benefit the energy 
sector.  Diamonds, by contrast, had been badly affected by 
the global financial crisis.  Namibia, he added, needed to be 
less dependent on the import and export of raw materials. 
 
 4. (C) Ambassador inquired into Nujoma's thoughts on the 
state of Namibia's democracy in light of the upcoming 
elections and a front page story in the day's issue of "The 
Namibian," which reported that the SWAPO Party Elders' 
Council (SPEC) asked the newspaper to stop publishing 
readers' instant messages that criticize President Pohamba or 
Nujoma himself. (Note: The article quoted the SPEC Secretary 
as saying the instant messages were promoting "hatred and 
public discontent, whose consequences will be too ghastly to 
contemplate."  In addition, the story claimed the Minister of 
Information was instructed to put an end to "dangerous radio 
programs" and chat shows "before the situation gets out of 
control." End note.)  Nujoma responded that Namibia's 
"policy" of free expression was certainly correct, but that 
it "must be done in a constructive way (that) does not cause 
problems for Namibians."  He added that tolerance was the key 
to the success of Namibia's young democracy and that Namibia 
had much to learn from other nations. 
 
 5. (C) Nujoma was pleased with news that the ZANU-PF and MDC 
parties in Zimbabwe had agreed to form a power-sharing 
government.  He believes that once the government forms and 
the two parties begin exchanging views, thorny issues, such 
as the sharing of various ministries, will be resolved. 
Ambassador explained that the USG stood ready to support a 
government of national unity if a true power-sharing 
arrangement emerged, violence ceased, and those who had been 
kidnapped were accounted for.  She also opined that a 
sustainable land policy should be developed, particularly in 
light of the recent SADC Tribunal decision.  The former 
president said he was optimistic the situation would improve 
now. 
 
 6. (C) Comment: The 79-year-old Nujoma seemed as physically 
and mentally agile has he did during Ambassador's last visit 
in December 2007.  He clearly follows current events both at 
home and abroad.  However, his comments were short on 
substance, especially given some accounts that he still calls 
the shots in the SWAPO party and is extremely influential in 
Namibian politics.  It is possible that Nujoma purposefully 
affects this posture with visitors, because he technically 
has no official title in the party or government.  It is also 
possible that Nujoma is given credit for influencing 
situations, such as ostracizing and driving out members of 
SWAPO who do not toe the party line (reftel), for which the 
credit belongs to others.  It is worth noting that Nujoma 
appeared to be enthusiastic about future meetings with 
Ambassador.  In 2008, however, Nujoma did not accept any 
Embassy invitations. 
 
 
MATHIEU