Vice President Lucia Witbooi has urged Namibians to stand united against all forms of divisiveness and preserve the peace for which the fallen heroes gave their lives.
She made these remarks at the Cassinga Commemoration held in Gibeon at the Swapo Party Office on Monday.
Namibians commemorated the 4th of May, 1978, the Cassinga Massacre, when South African forces attacked a SWAPO camp in Angola, killing over 600 people, including women and children.
The massacre is known to be one of the most painful chapters in the country's liberation struggle.
The Gibeon community joined Vice President Witbooi, Hardap Governor Riaan McNab, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services Suzan Ndjaleka and traditional leaders to pay tribute to the victims.
"We must remain vigilant and resolute in safeguarding our unity. We cannot, and we must not, allow any division or intolerance to erode the very foundation upon which our nation was built. Those forces that seek to divide us, whether along ethnic, political or social lines, must find no space in our society. To allow such divisions to take root would be to betray the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for our freedom," said Witbooi.
The war veteran Ben Boois reminded Namibians that Cassinga represents a shared national sacrifice that led the country to freedom and not a political party event.
"It's a special day in the lives of our people of Namibia, and this mental backwardness of some of our own people who think that it's a SWAPO day – no, it's a Namibian day; it's Namibians who were sacrificed there. Their blood waters our freedom. If it had not been for that Cassinga and the subsequent developments stemming from Cassinga, we would not be free today."
In a sombre turn of events, as the nation pays tribute to the fallen Cassinga heroes, another loss befell the Hardap Region on Cassinga Day, following the Swapo Party Regional Coordinator Joplin !Gontes' death.
!Gontes (47) was elected to the post in 2022 and was number 68 on the current party parliamentary list.
During a memorial service at the Swapo Party office in Mariental, the Vice President offered consolation to the family, friends, and allies.