The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the
Federal Republic of Namibia, Retired General Mamodu Basiri sat in his palatial
office ruminating over the events of the past three and half years since he
assumed the mantle of leadership of the Namibian nation as a democratically
elected civilian despot. The tides of reckoning were moving too fast, and his
country men and women were subjecting him to certain ‘uncharitable’ assessments
of his stewardship. Too much had been said and written about his messianic
mission for his beloved country.
He had mounted the saddle of leadership with
the promise to clean the Augean stables and set his country men and women on
the part of economic rediscovery and glory. But the burden of leadership has
overstretched his sanity almost to breaking point. He was no longer sure how
effective his sense of rational judgment was. One thing though, was very clear
to him. He has failed woefully in his much touted messianic mission. But he was
determined to cling to power at all costs.