Hannes Smit!

[Michael Alexander]

Not an Oranjemunder, in fact a character that was banned from coming to Oranjemund, The stalwart of South West African/Namibian reporting, one Hannes Smit passed away this morning in WIndhoek..... He was the editor in CHief of the Windhoek Observer and the Advertiser, often in trouble with the old SOuth African Authorities and recently with the Namibian Governement over his direct approach to reporting.... He was suffering from Altzheimers for the last two months..... Indeed one of the great Characters of this dry land... gone .... this morning...

This was the man that also scanned this forum and published articles from the wreck topic....

[Dalene Steenkamp (Coetzee)]

Smitty!   Indeed, what a character.  I still have a drawing that he did of me (long time ago in the Goblet in Windhoek).  He used to drive a bright yellow Rover way back then.  He then decided to sell the car, but no one wanted to buy it.  Next best option  -  left it out on the street with all the windows down and the key in the ignition.  It never even got stolen.........   

A legend in his own right.  A funny man with a funny humor, but he was as sharp as a razor blade.  Can tell you a few stories about him, but I will leave that for his family and the Observer to do him the honours.

[SandyB]

Was Gwen Lister also not his partner  in crime  in to the point  reporting  many years ago  ?? >. I recall  a good friend of mines one sister was married to her brother .. she was a reall stirrer in  the Old SWA ... and he was a real stirrer of a lawyer here in CT ..

[Dalene Steenkamp (Coetzee)]

Ja, you are right about this, Sandy.  She was another one   -----   some of the koevoet blokes got her good one time at the Epupa falls.  She had a cabin there and they caught a crock in the river (about a meter long) and placed in her bathtub.   He he he   -  commotion!  Wish you could have seen it!

[Michael Alexander]

Gwenn is now the editor of the Namibian newspaper, also a thorn in the current Government's side.... in fact all three of the main newspapers are not to popular with Government.....   

[Michael Alexander]

From the Namibian...

"Smithie's 'legacy will live on'
GWEN LISTER

VETERAN journalist and reporter-in-chief of the Windhoek Observer, Hannes Smith, affectionately known as Smithie, died early yesterday morning.

A statement by his daughter, Yanna Erasmus, said Smithie (75) "has left a gap that can never be filled".

On June 26, Smithie was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease after he had been hospitalised, and according to Erasmus, his condition had worsened since then to the point where he had extended periods of delirium.

"We draw comfort from the fact that he made his choice," said Erasmus, who added that he had been due to be admitted to an old-age home when he passed away.

Smith had a long and illustrious, and often controversial, journalistic career spanning over half a century.

Tributes have started to come in and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) also bemoaned his passing.

Misa Namibia Chairperson Sandra Williams said: "The media fraternity in Namibia has lost one of its most fearless and courageous journalists.

Smithie was a true journalistic legend who remained true to his convictions and principles till his dying day.

"His passing is a great loss to the media industry and his pioneering spirit and determination to investigate and report will continue to serve as inspiration to many of Namibia's younger journalists.

"His legacy is one that was at times highly controversial, but one that was always colourful and endearing to us all.

He will be sorely missed."

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology's message of condolences described Smithie as a "living media legend in and beyond Namibia's borders".

The Ministry said although his writing was sometimes controversial, "he was admired in Government circles as a hard-working and fearless individual with a deep-rooted love for Namibia and its people".

Erasmus had already taken over the running of the Windhoek Observer, which has been amalgamated with Space magazine, as Smithie became ill.

She said yesterday that in keeping with Smithie's wishes, there would be no memorial service, simply a cremation, and his ashes would be scattered in the Namib-Naukluft Park."