France, Feb. 9 -- Sam Nujoma, the guerilla commander who led Namibia's fight for independence from South Africa and became its first democratically elected president, has died at the age of 95.

"Our Founding Father lived a long and consequential life during which he exceptionally served the people of his beloved country," said President Nangolo Mbumba on Sunday as he announced Nujoma's death in Windhoek on Saturday.

Born on 12 May 1929 to farmers from the Ovambo tribe in Ogandjera, Nujoma was the eldest of 10 children. After working on the farm, he made his way 800km south where he found a job as a railway sweeper near Windhoek in 1949.

While attending night classes, he met Hosea Kutako who was lobbying to end apartheid rule in Namibia...