THE late Education Minister Abraham Iyambo, who died on London on Saturday, will get a State funeral, The Namibian understands.

State funeral means the funeral is fully paid by the State, but Iyambo will not be buried in the Heroes' Acre in Windhoek.

Senior government sources also confirmed yesterday that President Hifikepunye Pohamba would soon declare three days of mourning in honour of the late minister, who was also known as 'Dr Fish' and 'Mr Deliver'.

Cabinet Secretary Frans Kapofi could not confirm this, but told The Namibian that they would soon make an announcement on the arrangements. "Very soon. Today or tomorrow," he said.

The announcement might include the date of the repatriation of the body and other funeral arrangements.

Kapofi, who is leading the organising committee for the funeral, has appointed the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana, to handle the task of informing the nation.

The cause of death of the former minister is still unknown as senior government officials have been tight-lipped, but The Namibian understands that the minister died of a stroke.

Iyambo, who died on his birthday at the age of 52 while attending an education conference, is survived by two children.

Meanwhile, the Swapo Party Youth League, which nominated the late minister to run for the position of Swapo deputy secretary general at the congress last December, has resolved to establish the Dr Abraham Iyambo Memorial Lecture to be held in February every year. The youth wing also said that they will name their education fund The Dr Abraham Iyambo Scholarship Fund.

The Namibia National Students' Organisation (Nanso) has declared February 2 as Dr Abraham Iyambo Day.

"It will be a day on which the Namibian students will come together and assess the development of Namibia, sectors of society where we need to work hard as a nation. We believe this will sensitise the youth about their responsibility towards their country and ensure that they are the driving force for the development of Namibia," Nanso said.