Former diplomat and veteran Ambassador Tuliameni Kalomoh has expressed grief over the passing of former First Lady Penehupifo “Kambosho” Pohamba, describing her death as a devastating blow to the nation and to those who shared her lifelong journey from childhood into the liberation struggle.
Pohamba passed away Saturday night in Windhoek following an illness. She was 78.
Speaking to Nampa outside the residence of former President Hifikepunye Pohamba, where mourners gathered to pay their respects, a sombre Kalomoh reflected on his long shared history with the late First Lady.
“We are all here to console the Pohamba family. Meme Penehupifo Pohamba has not been well for some time, but we had never expected her to depart so soon. Dr Pohamba has not been well any longer than his wife, and now, she has departed.
We are here to extend our solidarity to the Pohamba family during this moment of sorrow,” Kalomoh said.
Recalling their early years, Kalomoh shared that their bond dates back to their school days at St. Mary’s Mission in Odibo, where they grew up together.
He said, “She was one class ahead of me, but we were in the same group. She graduated and went to study nursing, finished her nursing education, and started work at St. Mary’s Hospital.”
Kalomoh noted that her strict adherence to values was inherited from her upbringing. “Her father was a school teacher, a disciplinarian, a great teacher he was,” he added.
He recounted the perilous journey into exile during the struggle for Namibia’s independence, remembering the moment their paths crossed in the border forests in 1974.
“On 01 September 1974, I crossed the border into Angola, in a small forest on the border area, there was Kambosho, Meme Penehupifo, with her first husband, Malakia, who sacrificed his life in the struggle for our freedom.
There they were with their baby, Waldheim. I think Waldheim was about two years old. So we trekked together, Malakia and I carrying Waldheim on our shoulders,” he remarked.
He described how their paths continued to cross throughout the liberation movement across Southern Africa.
“We met periodically in the struggle in Zambia and in Angola until we met finally in a free and independent Namibia.
As a nurse, she started to work for the government hospital, she used to work at Robert Mugabe Clinic, and she helped the effort led by Sam Nujoma, the First President, for our nation-building,” Kalomoh reflected.
– Nampa
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