The United Democratic Front (UDF) says the death of veteran politician Simson Tjongarero has left a leadership vacuum within the party.

This, the party says, is particularly at a time when experienced political mentors are needed to groom a new generation of leaders.

Tjongarero, a founding member of the UDF, died at Usakos on 28 October at the age of 83, following a short illness.

His political legacy stretches back to the late 1970s, when he served in the Damara Council before becoming one of the founding figures of the UDF in 1989.

Party President Hendrik Gaobaeb says Tjongarero was instrumental in preparing younger members to assume political leadership and public office.

"He was one of those who took that decision during difficult times to say, No, we are establishing a new party," during 1989, which I also witnessed in Khomasdal, the founding of the UDF party. He was not merely a politician; he was also an educator, and he could groom people."

Tjongarero also served two terms as Kunene Governor between 1999 and 2004 and represented the party in Parliament.

He retired from active politics in 2015 to concentrate on commercial farming.

UDF Secretary-General Daniel Tsaneb says Tjongarero's strategic thinking remains an example to aspiring leaders.

"He was a strategist, a very sharp diplomat in the political discourse. We have learnt a lot from the late, and we have regarded him as a veteran."

Away from public office, his family remembers a father whose values centred on discipline, humility and hard work.

|A very much respectful person, a humble, but also a very strict person who believed in discipline. Somebody who believed that you must work with your hands to earn something in life," says the late's daughter, Christine Tjongarero.

The UDF Party leadership visited the bereaved family home at Usakos, where it also lowered the Party flag, symbolising the loss of an influential leader.