On a Cairo winter’s day, amidst the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic – November 13, 2020 – I was part of a large and diverse delegation of Egyptian intellectuals, driven by pan-Africanist and liberationist ideals, who had the honour of meeting the historical leader and founding father of Namibia, Sam Nujoma.
This meeting was arranged at the invitation of Helmy Shaarawy, a lifelong champion of African affairs in Egypt and a true “organic intellectual.” Shaarawy, the founder of the Arab African Research Center, had been responsible for supporting African liberation movements in President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s office and monitoring Zionist activity on the African continent, as he personally told me during one of his lessons within the “Africanians” group.
This group, which he established, aimed to structure African research in Egypt through active participants in the field. His Wednesday sessions each month focused on a specific African topic or featured prominent researchers and thinkers, colleagues such as Professor Samir Amin and the late Sam Nujoma himself. During Nujoma’s visit to Egypt, he specifically requested to meet his comrade in struggle, Minister Mohamed Fayek, the Minister of African Affairs during the Nasser era (may God grant him health). Nujoma also wanted to meet with the late Helmy Shaarawy, who assisted and oversaw African liberation movements, and who passed away on March 20, 2023, after a long and dedicated career of activism.
I recall the warm exchange between the attendees and the late President and leader Nujoma, as captured in the photographs from the meeting at the Arab African Research Center, a venerable institution on the banks of the Nile. He insisted on arranging this visit alongside the official program for receiving the annual Boutros Ghali Award, bestowed upon him for his recognised role in resolving African conflicts, and his meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who was then the Chairman of the African Union.
During the meeting, he spoke extensively about Egypt’s revolutionary role in Africa under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nujoma said that Nasser was not only representing himself but also the vigour and youth of Egypt. He also noted that the Egyptian regime provided logistical support to African liberation movements and cared for the revolutionaries and their families academically, scientifically, culturally, and socially. This was a point previously confirmed to me personally by the son of Patrice Lumumba during a meeting I had with him in Chad.
Speaking of Nasser and Nujoma, I am reminded of a time when Alina Nampila, a student of mine and graduate of the Gamal Abdel Nasser Leadership Grant, sent me a picture of herself with Gamal Abdel Nasser and the late Sam Nujoma. She told me, “I went to the Venezuelan embassy to get a visa and found this picture. We are always keen to celebrate non-African figures, even though it is more important for us to celebrate our icons and learn from their wisdom. Gamal Abdel Nasser did a lot for Africa; I knew that during the Nasser International Leadership Grant. I still don’t know much about him, but I am fascinated by him.”
Namibia and a Young Leader Gone Too Soon
When I speak about Namibia, I cannot forget my friend and inspiring young leader, Mandela Kapere, leader of the youth wing of the ruling SWAPO party, who passed away too early. I met him in Sudan during my membership in the Egyptian delegation to the elections of the Executive Bureau of the African Youth Union. Our friendship deepened when I ran for election to the Executive Bureau of the African Youth Union for the post of Deputy Secretary-General.
Some members of the Executive Bureau tried to prevent Egypt from running in the elections, but he intervened as head of the election monitoring committee, stating that all my nomination papers were valid and that no one could prevent Egypt from participating in continental elections, as Egypt is a major country with a well-established system and its representative could not be excluded. I won against the Libyan candidate in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December 2014 and held the position for three years, followed by another three years after a landslide victory for the Algerian candidate in December 2017 in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
