Malak Ahmed Zaher

Nujoma Drive

An uber drive to Cape Town’s Castle of Good Hope is the last place I expect to be a site of a memorial, but it may be as good a place as any. The midday traffic is starting to thicken. The sun has clearly mistaken Cape Town for Windhoek and it burns my arm when I dare to place my elbow in its glare. I share that silly little joke with the Uber driver who realises I’m from Namibia. Windhoek is a place he’s heard of, hopes to visit, and he’s shocked when I tell him the founding president recently died. “Sam Nujoma!” he says, as if I’ve informed him of the death of an old friend. Quickly, he asks for the details. When? 8 February. Cause of death? Reports say illness. Age? 95. The fact that Nujoma had lived so long seems to soothe him and he launches into a tribute worthy of a more formal commemoration.