President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah described the late Reverend Jesse Jackson as a committed ally of Namibia during a memorial service held in honour of the late American civil rights leader.
Late Jackson, she said, championed UN Security Council Resolution 435 worldwide and mobilised U.S. church pulpits, universities and communities in support of Namibia's cause.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah delivered a tribute to Reverend Jesse Jackson, honouring his role in the nation's liberation from apartheid.
Jackson's 1984 UN speech condemned delays in independence, aligning civil rights with anti-colonial justice.
The President recalled Jackson's 1990 visit to celebrate Namibia's birth, linking it to Nelson Mandela's release and Sam Nujoma's leadership as a regional triumph over oppression.
His legacy, she noted, inspires ongoing US-Namibia ties in trade, education, energy and innovation amid complex geopolitics.
Nandi-Ndaitwah urged emulating Jackson's non-violent, Gandhi-inspired activism, from Palestine advocacy to universal human dignity.
"As beneficiaries of international solidarity, Namibia carries the responsibility to extend solidarity to others. Reverend Jesse Jackson's life reminds us that leadership finds meaning in service, that justice must never be selective, and that freedom anywhere strengthens freedom everywhere. May we honour Reverend Jesse Jackson not only through tribute but also through renewed commitment to selfless service, principled diplomacy, and solidarity with the oppressed."
The US Ambassador to Namibia, John Giordano, said, "Among the international voices that kept that cause alive in the halls of American power was Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jackson believed international engagement mattered, that strong relationships between nations helped create opportunity, security, and prosperity. His connection to Namibia reflected this belief. The relationship between our two countries reflects those principles."
Former U.S.-based student Bob Kandetu reminisced on Jackson's broader global justice movements, including his advocacy role, which helped elevate SWAPO and Namibia's cause onto international platforms.
"He lived in the generation of Martin Luther King as a young man alongside gurus of that time, among them Reverend Ralph Abernathy and others. He then moved along to join yet another generation of Americans, black and white, and that is the generation of people like Brother Randall Robinson of TransAfrica and Brother George Hausa of the American Committee on Africa, which plays a critical role later, which played a critical role in exposing SWAPO and introducing it to the United Nations and to the world."
Jackson died on 17 February, aged 84.