From a teacher in the rural south of Namibia, Lucia Witbooi has ascended to the top echelons of state power, shattering the proverbial glass ceiling.

Yesterday, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, herself at the centre of history, appointed Witbooi as Vice President, a first in the 35-year history of Namibia having both a woman as President and a woman as Vice President. 

Upon the announcement, members of the Witbooi clan, who were in attendance, invoked the spirit of national hero Kaptein Hendrik !Nanseb Witbooi, by breaking out in a praise song for the early 19th-century resistance leader.

Loosely translated, the song praises Outa !Nanseb was a fierce opponent to his enemies despite his small stature and handicapped hand and is aimed at setting the 64-year-old Witbooi on the road.

Hailing from a small settlement near Karasburg, Witbooi also taught in Gibeon, the ancestral land of !Nanseb, before being elected to the National Assembly, aged 49, in 2009 on the Swapo Party political list, having made it to number 34. 

On Thursday, former President Nangolo Mbumba hinted that more women would sit at the highest table of decision-making.

Witbooi has her work cut out, as per the appointment orders of President Nandi-Ndaitwah.

"The functions of marginalised and disabled people will be placed in the office of the Vice President so that they get the attention they need, and the Vice President will ensure that these members of our society are properly taken care of."

Lucia Witbooi married her husband, Adam Hendrik Witbooi, at the young age of 21, and although they carried the same Witbooi name, they were not related. She lost her husband in a car accident years ago.

During the excitement surrounding the announcement, she struggled to control her tears, wiping away those that surfaced, but she managed to maintain her composure.