by ALFRED SHILONGO
WINDHOEK – NAMIBIA’S first commemoration of the victims of the German genocide is a historic moment for the Southern African nation and underlines its resolve to seek reparations from the former coloniser.
This stance by the new government, 117 years after the end of the four-year genocide and 35 years after independence, offers hope that the long-running issue of compensations to Namibia would be settled.
Before the announcement on Monday that on Wednesday would German Remembrance Day was that Germany was not genuine with its admission of guilt in the first genocide of the 20th century, when an estimated 85 000 indigenous Herero and Nama were cruedly massacred.
May 28 has been chosen as the commemoration; reportedly it is the day Germany yielded to international pressure and close its notorious concentration camps.
While Germany in 2015 acknowledged its role in this brutal crackdown to gain resources, previous Namibian governments have also come under pressure to negotiate with the European country while excluding the communities of the victims of the genocide that raged between 1904 and 1908.
“The beginning of a journey of national healing,” the government stated ahead of Wednesday’s commemorations.
“It serves as a moment of national reflection,” it added.
On Tuesday, preparations were intensifying, with workers putting final touches to the Parliament Gardens, venue for the Remembrance Day.
“We expect a full house,” an official at the site said.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is expected to deliver the keynote address at the event set to be attended by regional leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Thousands of locals from across the country are set to attend the event from across the country’s 2,8 million people.
The government has made available 33 pick-up points around the capital Windhoek.
“Members of the public who wish to attend the commemoration are advised to register at the governor’s offices in their respective regions in advance,” the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said in a media statement.
The country’s first female president, Nandi-Ndaitwah has been at the helm since late March and made the issue of reparations a top priority for the fifth administration.
She is familiar with the issue.
The former freedom fighter led the work on genocide as minister of international relations and cooperation between years 2012-15.
As vice president (2024-25), she was the chair of the Cabinet Committee on Genocide, Apology and Reparations.
The commemorations coincide with the recently-marked Africa Day 2025 held this past weekend (yearly on May 25) under the theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.”
Namibia’s Africa Day message resonated with that.
Namibia called on the urgent need to address the enduring legacies of colonialism, apartheid, slavery and genocide.
It lamented that these had left deep scars that required acknowledgement, resilience and transformative action in pursuit of the dignity and restoration of African people.
“Namibia remains steadfast in its pursuit of reparatory justice,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
This stance by the new president therefore brings hope among the populace that after a long wait, compensation would finally be received.
Negotiations between the two countries began in 2015 over a possible apology, with Germany committing itself to apologising a year later.
In 2020 it was reported an unspecified offer by Germany was deemed “unacceptable” by then president, Hage Geingob (deceased).
The last offer in 2021 in which Germany agreed to pay €1,1 billion over 30 years to fund projects in communities that were affected by the genocide.
Negotiations are said to be continuing between the two countries.
– CAJ News
