President Raúl Castro sends a message of condolences for the death of Andimba Toivo and Toivo.

Andimba Toivo ya Toivo

The President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, Army General Raul Castro, sent a message of condolences to his Namibian counterpart, Hage Geingob, for the death of Namibian independence leader Andimba Toivo ya Toivo.

Comrade Toivo is one of the icons of the anti-apartheid struggle in Namibia. He was co-founder of SWAPO in 1960 and of its predecessor the Ovambo People's Organization. For his political activism he was imprisoned in 1966 and sentenced to 20 years in prison at Robben Island, where he spent 16 years in the same section as Nelson Mandela. After independence he had diverse responsibilities until he retired from political life in 2006.

Toivo was also a strong supporter of Cuba and its Revolution. During the imprisonment of the Five Heroes, he participated actively in the struggle for his liberation.

At the time of his death, on June 9 in Windhoek, capital of the African country, he was the Patron of the Namibia-Cuba Friendship Association. His last public appearance was at the V Continental Conference of Solidarity with the Greater Antilles held in Namibia from June 5 to 7.

The Army General said:

“I have known of the death of the beloved comrade Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, outstanding historical leader of SWAPO and President of the Namibia-Cuba Friendship Association. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Namibian government and people, as well as the relatives of Comrade Toivo.”

Cuba has lost a great friend. 

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Solidaridad