On the first anniversary of the late President Hage Geingob's death, his family remembers him as a family man.

Geingob would, on Family Day, invite family members to his farm near Otavi.

This time it was different, though, given his absence.

The late President's farm is near Otavi, where his mother and grandparents are all buried. It was therefore important for him to gather with family at his farm near Otavi.

The late Geingob has instilled a strong sense of family values among his relatives.

"We miss him really. He was more concerned about the family issues, but he was not directly involved; he had been separated from the family for many, many years when he went out. When he came back, he only found a few of his peers within the family line; all the elder people had passed on already, so he had to make a family line through us now and start doing that," said Markus Damaseb.

A minister, the country's first Prime Minister and later its president, it was not easy for Geingob to keep up and stay involved in family matters.

Despite his hectic schedule, he set out Family Day on 26 December just for family.

"There, we could enjoy ourselves, sing along to Christmas carols, and engage in various activities. That was what made him happy to see his family once a year. You know he was busy, but on that particular day he made sure he wanted to see his available family members."

Despite feeling his absence this time, the family continued to celebrate his legacy at the farm.

"The wife said she won't leave us out; we will always be together, she said that to us. That's why she called us on Family Day; we were eating together, and the place where he used to sit was empty; there was just a photo there as a token. I was missing him a lot," narrated Helena Khaimses, another family member of Geingob.