Justicia Shipena
The Okandjoze Chiefs’ Assembly on Genocide (OCAG) has called on the Namibian government to adopt a “business unusual” approach in dealing with genocide, apology and reparations.
OCAG said years of discussions have produced little action.
Namibia will mark its second Genocide Remembrance Day on Thursday in memory of tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people killed during German colonial rule between 1904 and 1908.
Cabinet declared 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day and approved it as a public holiday in 2024.
The first official commemoration took place last year at Parliament Gardens.
Some Ovaherero and Nama leaders did not attend and claimed that the government failed to properly consult descendants and excluded them from the planning process.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, OCAG said the annual commemoration should become the start of a more serious process aimed at restorative justice for descendants of the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu and Nama communities.
The organisation said the government and descendants remain divided on how reparations should be handled.
“Both the government and descendants have been talking about genocide and reparations for long but only in words without consequent action,” OCAG said.
The group urged the government to move away from symbolic discussions and engage descendants differently.
“It is time that our government takes a moment and reflects on these gaps in approach and engages us, the descendants, differently now and onwards in a ‘BUSINESS UNUSUAL’ for real,” the statement said.
OCAG said it met President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on 2 March this year to discuss genocide, apology and reparations.
During the meeting, the organisation repeated its rejection of the genocide joint declaration negotiated between the Namibian and German governments.
“We reiterated our total, unequivocal and unconditional rejection of the joint declaration,” OCAG stated.
Germany, which ruled Namibia from 1884 to 1915, acknowledged the genocide in 2021 and committed €1.1 billion (about N$22.5 billion) over 30 years for development projects in affected communities.
Some descendants have rejected the agreement, arguing that it does not amount to reparations and excluded affected communities from negotiations.
OCAG said remembrance should go beyond ceremonies and become part of a long-term national process focused on historical truth and trauma.
“Genocide and memory are inseparably linked, functioning as both tools for political manipulation and vital pillars of truth, trauma and identity,” the group said.
OCAG said survivors lost land, livestock and property following military campaigns and extermination orders issued by German commander General Lothar von Trotha.
The organisation also called for the return of human remains taken to Germany during the colonial era.
OCAG said the psychological effects of genocide continue to affect descendants today.
The group also referred to a United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted in April recognising transatlantic slavery as the “gravest crime against humanity”.
The resolution, proposed by Ghana, was supported by 123 countries. The United States and Israel opposed it, while several European Union countries abstained.
Trauma still haunts communities
Former cabinet minister Carl-Hermann Schlettwein said Genocide Remembrance Day should remind Namibians about the suffering caused by colonialism and the importance of preserving peace and unity.
“The colonial war of 1904 was a resistance war against an invader and oppressor who had, by force, taken the land and dignity of indigenous people and ended with a genocidal order by Germany to exterminate all Ovaherero people,” Schlettwein said.
He said the extermination order targeted fleeing people, including innocent women and children, while many who survived gunfire and cannon attacks later died in the harsh and waterless desert conditions.
“No doubt, therefore, it was genocide in any language of the civilised world,” he said.
Schlettwein said many Namibians suffered during colonialism and war.
“All Namibians have experienced this infinite sadness and loss caused by wars. Many families have lost loved ones, and many Namibian heroes have sacrificed for the sake of humanity, for freedom, liberty and justice,” he said.
He said Namibians should never forget the brutality of colonial rule.
“We may not forget and must remind ourselves of the brutality, injustices and inhumanity that we endured when occupied by foreign regimes,” Schlettwein said.
He also called for continued unity and reconciliation.
Schlettwein’s comment comes days after member of parliament Vetaruhe Kandorozu challenged Schlettwein to publicly address genocide, reparations and land ownership linked to German colonial rule.
“You as a German and me as Omuherero, you know we have unfinished business. Your ancestors were soldiers who killed my ancestors and kept them in concentration camps while distributing land, cattle and properties among themselves. You have generational wealth and I have generational poverty inheritance,” he said.
Kandorozu questioned when Schlettwein would publicly support reparations and land restitution.
“When will I hear your voice about what your grandparents did to my grandparents and our request for an apology and reparations and the return of all stolen land to the rightful owners?” he asked.
He also called on German-descended landowners to return land acquired during colonial rule.
“When will you force your fellow German citizens, both present landlords and absentee landowners, by telling them to return the land?” he questioned.
Kandorozu argued that Germany should provide monetary reparations before descendants can fully accept an apology.
The debate comes amid continued discussions over genocide reparations, land ownership and the joint declaration between Namibia and Germany.
During President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s State of the Nation Address last month, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader and member of parliament McHenry Venaani questioned why Namibia appeared willing to accept a settlement he believed was lower than amounts Germany paid elsewhere.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, however, defended the government’s position, saying the agreement allows future negotiations to continue because the government rejected a clause that would have closed discussions permanently.
Genocide survivor descendant Sima Luipert previously told the Windhoek Observer that the process does not fully recognise genocide or reparations.
Between 1904 and 1908, German colonial forces killed more than 75 000 Ovaherero and Nama people in what is widely recognised as the first genocide of the twentieth century.
