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Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Hage Geingob, the president of Namibia and an anti-apartheid activist who spent years in exile before leading the African nation, has died from cancer treatment at the age of 82. Vice President Nangolo Mbumba was quickly sworn in as president to lead the nation on Sunday and Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was named vice president, the office of the Namibian Presidency announced on social media.
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Geingob died just after midnight at the Lady Pohamba Hospital with his wife Monica Geingos and his children by his side.
"The Namibian nation has lost a distinguished servant of the people, a liberation struggle icon, the chief architect of our constitution and the pillar of the Namibian house," the office of the presidency said.
Namibia, a longtime German colony subjected to genocide, emerged as an independent nation free from White colonial rule in 1990.
Geingob served as the country's first prime minister, leading the country's legislative body, while Sam Nujoma served as the first president. Nujoma stepped down from power after 15 years in office in 2005 and was succeeded by Hifikepunye Pohamba who served two terms, the constitutional limit. Geingob became the country's third president in the following election in 2015.
"President Geingob was a fearless leader, fighting for independence, overseeing the drafting of the new nation's constitution, and serving his country twice as prime minister and finally as president," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement of mourning.
"He was an eloquent advocate for his country and continent, who stood up for his values and beliefs. We will continue to build on his legacy, strengthening our partnerships and shared vision for deeper mutual support.
"I will miss working with him."
The regular elections and peaceful transitions of power have shown Namibia as a bastion of democracy on the continent. Still, the presidency warned the nation "to remain calm and collected" amid the transition of power.
The soft-spoken Geingob most recently made a splash on the international stage in January when he called out Germany for defending Israel on genocide charges levied by South Africa for its war in the Palestinian territory of Gaza at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Israel had been accused of genocide by South Africa for the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, food blockades, and the infliction of bodily and mental harm on civilians."The German government is yet to fully atone for the genocide it committed on Namibian soil," Geingob's office had said.
Known as the Herero and Namaqua genocide and recognized as the first genocide of the 20th century by Holocaust museums, German colonizers invaded and slaughtered as many as 100,000 of the Herero people and 10,000 of the Nama people living in modern Namibia.
Geingob's office blasted the "genocidal and gruesome" acts perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and noted that Human Rights Watch and other advocacy groups have "chillingly concluded that Israel is committing war crimes."
