Quick Facts
Biography
Penehupifo 'Penny' Pohamba is a Namibian educator and politician who has served as the second First Lady of Namibia since her husband President Hifikepunye Pohamba took office in March 2005. She was born in Okatale in Ohangwena Region, in the Constituency of Oshikango close to the borders of Angola. Pohamba attended her primary and secondary school at Odibo with Jeremiah Nambinga and Joel Kaapanda. She was a school teacher at St George's Diocesan School in Windhoek.
Political career
Pohamba is a member of SWAPO. In 1974, she left Namibia via Angola and headed to Zambia. She got married to Malakias Shiluwa in 1971 and they have one son, Waldheim. After a few months in Zambia, Pohamba was sent to Tanzania for medical training. She also received military training and worked in the camps where the refugees from Namibia were housed. She was then sent to Jamaica for a three-year period to study midwifery. Her husband (Malakias) was killed in a land mine explosion and by that time she had their daughter, Ndelitungapo. She was sent back to Angola to practice her medical skills among her own people.
In August 1982, Pohamba was sent to East Germany to study politics at a college designed for Namibians. In 1983 she returned to Angola, where she married Hifikepunye Pohamba, and they had 3 children, Tulongeni (meaning "Lets work"), Kaupumhote (meaning "In this world you will not finish the bad people") and Ndapanda (meaning "I'm grateful"), who was born shortly after independence.
In her tenure as First Lady, Pohamba advocated for the empowerment of women to enable them to make a meaningful contribution to the development of society and fought for the eradication of violence and other forms of injustice against women. She has also been active in supporting maternal and child health-care, and also in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In July 2006, Penehupifo Pohamba was elected Vice-President for the Southern Africa Development Committee (SADC). She is a professional midwife after being trained in Tanzania and Jamaica. Before her husband became president, she practised as a midwife and registered nurse.
On Heroes' Day 2014 she was conferred the Most Brilliant Order of the Sun, First Class.