By Nishi Felton | 17 February 2026
Former president Sam Nujoma left an estate valued at N$59 million, though his total wealth – including a farm worth over N$40 million – could exceed N$100 million.
The estate details, including N$6.6 million in cash and a Windhoek mansion worth N$43 million financed by the state, are contained in a liquidation and distribution account published on 23 January.
Half the estate will go to his widow, Kovambo Nujoma, while his two sons will inherit through the Etunda Trust.
Nujoma died last February aged 95.
The estate, which consists of his property portfolio worth N$49.6 million, offers a rare insight into a former president’s wealth in a country where heads of state receive state-funded retirement houses and lifelong salaries.
Nujoma’s estate is being administered by lawyer Sisa Namandje, whom he appointed in his testamentary will.
The estate’s primary beneficiary is Kovambo, whom Nujoma married in community of property in 1956. She receives N$29.5 million directly.
Etunda Trust – a trust set up for his wife and two sons – will also receive N$29.5 million.
The trust was established in 2022 with Nujoma as sole beneficiary during his lifetime, with his wife and two sons designated as beneficiaries upon his death.
His two sons – Utoni Nujoma and Zacharias Nujoma – each, therefore, stand to benefit from the N$29.5 million given to the trust.
Utoni is a former labour minister. His younger brother Zacharias is listed as a self-employed prospective geologist on the trust deed.
Nujoma also owned six cars at the time of his death, collectively valued at around N$500 000.
The other property listed in his asset accounts is a collection of firearms – 26 in total – ranging from a rifle valued at N$3 000 to a pistol valued at N$55 000. His guns are valued at N$433 000.
His collection includes several German guns, as well as Chinese, Korean and Russian firearms.
At his death, he held N$6.6 million in a First National Bank account and N$7 000 in a Nedbank account.
Namandje told The Namibian on Saturday that Nujoma was a believer in the rule of law and constitutionalism.
“His estate is, therefore, like that of any other citizen, being dealt with strictly in accordance with the law which requires a publication of a notice in the media calling for inspection of the liquidation and distribution account of his estate by interested parties,” he said.
Namandje as the executor, his task is to ensure that Nujoma’s estate is “administered in a dignified manner and with the necessary promptitude”.
“I ask that the family and I are allowed space and privacy to finalise this required legal process,” he said.
One of Nujoma’s biggest critics, Phil ya Nangoloh, believes that Nujoma’s wealth exceeds N$100 million. He says Nujoma’s wealth could run into hundreds of millions.
PROPERTY PORTFOLIO
Transparency around assets accumulated by leaders is essential for democracy, political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says.
“At the same time, I believe it also naturally raises a broader and sometimes uncomfortable question about the gap that can exist between political leaders and the ordinary citizens they serve,” he says.
Nujoma’s N$43-million house on the outskirts of Windhoek was renovated with state funds in 2015.
The government paid for renovations because he declined an official residence, his personal assistant, John Nauta, said at the time. He said Nujoma instead requested to stay in his house, which was given to him by Swapo.
In 2019, the Presidency clarified that the amount for upgrades had been reduced from N$64 million to N$43 million, which was spent on upgrades to the main living quarters, foyer, reception, private lounge, dining room, servants room, study room, master bedroom, indoor and outdoor entertainment facilities, as well as three other bedrooms.
Nujoma’s assets also include three other properties: a seaside property of 1 241 square metres at Henties Bay valued at N$5.9 million, a property at Rehoboth valued at N$290 000 and a Nkurenkuru property valued at N$485 000.
The coastal home reflects Nujoma’s well-known passion for fishing – he famously hosted Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe for a fishing trip at Henties Bay in 2003, drawing condemnation from human rights groups who called for Mugabe’s arrest.
Nujoma’s wealth would have exceeded N$125 million had he not donated a N$25 million portion of the farm to the government for Etunda Primary School and clinic, which operate on the land.
Etunda, Nujoma’s farm 30 kilometres south of Otavi, is not included in the liquidation and distribution account, because he transferred ownership of the land to his trust prior to his death.
Upon his death, any assets in the Etunda Trust were automatically transferred to the new beneficiaries of the trust – Kovambo, Utoni and Zacharias.
The account of Nujoma’s assets also does not directly include a residential unit that he owns in the luxury Presidential Suites complex near the Walvis Bay lagoon.
It does list a N$5.3 million stake in Jacamar Investments CC, the investment vehicle through which he owns the property, together with his wife.
The liquidation account also lists a N$6 000 provision for rates and taxes for an erf at Meersig, Walvis Bay, which likely refers to the same luxury residence.
The residential unit is one of many on a plot of land that Nujoma received for free from Walvis Bay. In 2010, he entered into an agreement with a Spanish businessman José Bastos to develop the property, according to a report by The Namibian last year.
In return, Nujoma received one of the residential units for free. Bastos said one property in the complex is owned by Nujoma through Jacamar Investments CC, which is 100% owned by Nujoma and his wife.
Bastos last year said he gave the former president dividends from a fishing company. In 2011, Bastos gave the Sam Nujoma Foundation a 20% stake in his fishing company, Emeritus Fishing.
The foundation said it was unaware of any stake in the company.
“The foundation has nothing to do with the estate. The estate is a family matter while the Sam Nujoma Foundation is a public foundation,” former prime minister Nahas Angula and Sam Nujoma Foundation chairperson said this weekend.
DONATIONS
A donation of N$50 000 will also be paid to Etunda Primary School in accordance with Nujoma’s will.
Nujoma stated in his 2022 will: “It is my wish that the educational needs of the children attending Etunda Primary School are provided for. To this extent, I bequeath an amount of N$50 000 which must be used for scholarships and bursaries for the Etunda school’s pupils.”
The land for the school was donated by Nujoma more than a decade ago, together with land for a clinic. It was last year handed over to the government by the Etunda Trust and the Sam Nujoma Foundation.
“The school and clinic structures are all built on a 15-hectare piece of land valued at N$25 million,” vice president Lucia Witbooi said last November.
In his will, Nujoma also directed the beneficiaries of the Etunda Trust to donate three to eight percent of any royalties earned by selling his image commercially to Swapo.
Around N$3.3 million will settle debts and estate administration costs. Namandje receives N$2.1 million in fees.
PRESIDENTIAL ENTITLEMENTS
As a former head of state, Nujoma was entitled to several benefits under the Former Presidents’ Pension and Other Entitlements Act of 2004.
The law states that any former president receives a pension either equal to their monthly salary as president or 80% of the incumbent president’s salary. They also receive a once-off tax-free gratuity equal to one year’s salary.
Nujoma was given N$421 000 as a tax-free gratuity when he stepped down. In addition, presidents receive a furnished official residence in Windhoek – or a renovated private residence, as Nujoma requested.
The state covers the cost of 30 staff: 10 security personnel, three domestic workers, two gardeners, two cooks, two waiters, two laundry persons, three drivers, two private secretaries, two personal assistants and two office attendants. The law also provides former heads of state with three cars, one of which is a Mercedes-Benz, and first-class international air travel.
These are provided to each former head of state tax-free for the duration of their lifetime.
COMRADES
Estates of former African presidents are often speculative or disputed.
The BBC reported in 2014 that preliminary figures showed that former president Nelson Mandela’s estate was valued at R46 million. The administration of Mandela’s estate was marred by high-profile legal battles and family rifts that lasted for over a decade.
Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe officially declared an estate of US$10 million (roughly N$160 million today) at his death in 2019.
However, court documents filed by his son-in-law, Simbarashe Chikore, during 2023 divorce proceedings revealed family assets worth at least US$80 million (N$1.3 billion), including 21 farms, more than 25 upmarket Harare houses and a US$8-million (about N$128 million) Dubai mansion. Mugabe’s daughter’s lawyer confirmed the properties’ authenticity in court papers, Al Jazeera reported.
Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda reportedly left an estate of US$8 000 (N$128 000) when he died in 2021, according to investigative news outlet News Diggers. During his lifetime, there was also speculation about Nujoma’s interest in a diamond mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The then prime minister, Hage Geingob, had to squash the speculation in parliament, saying it was baseless.
“I take serious exception that the honourable member [of parliament] can insinuate that our head of state owns a mine in the DRC and has commanded [Namibian armed] forces to protect his interests,” Geingob said in 2000.
ESTATE EXPLAINER
What is an estate?
A deceased estate refers to the property and money left behind by a person after they died. It is the appointed executor’s responsibility to ensure that all outstanding debt and expenses in the deceased’s estate are paid and that the beneficiaries receive their inheritance.
What is the process of administering an estate?
A deceased estate must be administered in terms of the pro- visions of the Administration of Estates Act of 1965, irrespective of whether a person died with or without having a will.
One of the executor’s first functions is to ensure that all taxes due and payable to the Namibia Revenue Agency are paid and all mandatory tax returns are submitted.
EXECUTOR FEES
As currently prescribed, the maximum amount an executor can charge is 3.5% of the gross value of the assets in the estate, plus value-added tax at 15%.
– Extracted from Bank Windhoek’s ‘Estate Planning: Expenses to be Considered for a Deceased Estate’ by trust and estates manager Letitia du Plessis.
