Former student leaders have paid tribute to their late peer, Isaiah Zemburukee Kavendjii, who died at the age of 53 in Windhoek.

Kavendjii passed away on Tuesday following a short illness at Katutura State Hospital.

In paying tribute, Swanu President and Member of Parliament, Evilastus Kaaronda, expressed sorrow over the passing of the former student leader and Swapo Party youth activist.

He described the late Kavendjii as an individual with a brilliant mind.

Kaaronda said Otjiwarongo-born Kavendjii rose from grassroots leadership to the national level within the student union body, NANSO, where he served as vice president, among other leadership roles.

Kaaronda also remembered Kavendjii’s work on behalf of African students under the All-African Students Union (AASU) and the International Union of Students (IUS).

Former Oshana Governor Elia Irimari, who was NANSO secretary general when Kavendjii was vice president, described his death as a huge loss.

Irimari, who grew up with Kavendjii in Arandis, described him as an intellectual of note, a strategist, and a tough negotiator.

He added that beneath Kavendjii’s friendly exterior was a man who never settled for less during negotiations in their student leadership days.

Irimari said the multilingual former boxer, with whom he shared a boxing stable in Arandis, was not a tribalist.

Kavendjii leaves behind two children.

According to a family member, the memorial and funeral dates have not yet been set.