WINDHOEK: President Hage Geingob on Friday mused that the late Axali Doëseb’s calling was not to be a diplomat or politician but to be a craftsman, specifically in music during the liberation struggle.

Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, on behalf of the president, read his speech during the late Doëseb’s State memorial service at Parliament Gardens.

Geingob noted that Axali’s legacy will forever be defined by his people and his country through forging the national anthem ‘Namibia, Land of the Brave.’

“Axali captured and forever immortalised each Namibian and the future of each Namibian. He belongs to a generation of dedicated citizens of Namibia. Doëseb used his artistic craftmanship to motivate people to join the liberation struggle of the country,” the president said.

Doëseb was Namibia’s first post-independence black conductor of the Namibian National Symphony Orchestra, and in 2014 he was presented a lifetime achievement music award at the Namibian Annual Music Awards.

Simultaneously, founding President Sam Nujoma said: “The national anthem composer Axali Doëseb has left us to join the heavenly choir, his melodies will forever paint beautiful scenery in our minds.”

Swapo Secretary-General Sophia Shaningwa said: “It is because of Axali Doëseb that we have the national anthem today, it is a great loss to Swapo, his family and the country at large to have lost him. We praise him for his dedication to the government. His contribution will be shared by the current and future generations and today we say ‘give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar’, to the late Axali as he deserves this State funeral.”

Amalia Doëses, the widow of Axali Doëseb, compared their romance to a piano, saying the white keys on the piano represent the peace and happiness they shared and at this point, it is the time of the black keys, which is sadness and sorrow.

“He was a mentor, teacher, lawyer and anchor to me and our children. I will never get used to you leaving us,” Doëses said.

On behalf of the family at large, Doëseb’s son Anthony Brown noted that the family wishes to celebrate the life of the Namibian patriarch who single-handedly composed the Namibian national anthem, adding his dad believed deeply in education and made unprecedented sacrifices to ensure that each of his children had the opportunity to have a good education.

Brown said their father never stopped supporting his children, even in their adulthood. He described his late father as a freedom fighter during the liberation struggle and said he was a son of the Land of the Brave and will forever echo in their hearts.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency