President Nangolo Mbumba has described the late Katrina Hanse-Himarwa as a fearless trailblazer who exuded enthusiasm and had an energetic approach to dealing with governance issues.

Mbumba said this in a tribute read on his behalf by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa at a memorial service held in honour of the late Hanse-Himarwa at Mariental on Friday.

The president said her passing leaves behind a huge void in the talent pool of the Swapo Party and the Namibian Government at large.

‘In the wake of her tragic passing, we must now take up the challenge and pick up the baton where she left off by continuing with the noble objective of the second phase of the struggle, that of economic emancipation, to make Namibia a prosperous nation in which all its people can benefit from the wealth of its resources,’ Mbumba said.

Hanse-Himarwa, he noted, will be remembered for leading a delegation of Namibians to Germany to negotiate the repatriation of artifacts including the l
ate Captain Hendrik Witbooi’s whip, bible, and human remains to Namibia in 2019.

She will also be remembered for the implementation of the junior primary education diploma, which benefited and capacitated about 4 000 previously unqualified teachers, he said.

The former minister of education, arts, and culture succumbed to cancer on 14 July 2024 in a Windhoek hospital. She also served as governor of the Hardap Region.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency