Career
Imprisoned numerous times during the Namibian War of Independence, Witbooi was first elected as Vice-President of SWAPO in 1984 and was re-elected for the last time in 1997. Witbooi became Namibia"s first Deputy Prime Minister in 1995. He served in that position until 2004.
In October 2009, it was reported that Witbooi was facing major medical problems and had slipped into a coma at the Roman Catholic Hospital in Windhoek.
On 13 October, Witbooi died at the Roman Catholic Hospital due to cancer. Witbooi was the great-grandson of Hendrik Witbooi, the early resistance leader who led his chiefly followers against European colonisation.
