Namibia’s opposition has accused the ruling SWAPO party of pushing through a joint agreement with Germany over an apology for colonial-era atrocities against the Nama and Herero people, calling for compensations without their involvement.

The country’s parliament resumed the debate around the signing of a joint declaration with Germany regarding the former colonial power’s recognition that it perpetrated genocide in the early 1900s. Earlier, the Ova Herero Traditional Authority and the Nama Traditional Leaders Association said the 1904 to 1908 genocide declaration reflect the latter’s denial that the genocide was a crime.

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani claimed President Hage Geingob, recently asked him to accept the German genocide deal offer, although it included no legal obligation for the former colonial power.

Venaani said this after five political parties represented in the National Assembly (NA) staged a demonstration to express their discontent with the recent genocide deal.

The deal was tabled in the National Assembly by Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs Frans Kapofi today, September 23, on the floor of Parliament for discussion.

Meanwhile, Venaani said the President told him the government, in collaboration with concerned stakeholders, would renegotiate the amount offered by the German government after the acceptance of Germany’s apology in the National Assembly.

Currently, the agreement or declaration of apology submitted to the National Assembly contains an offer of more than U.S. $1.34 billion as compensation for the atrocities perpetrated against the Nama and Ovaherero communities.

This would be paid to Namibia in various forms, including in support of developmental projects over a period of 30 years.

In his submission, Kapofi reiterated that the government still does not find the amount offered by Germany acceptable. Meanwhile, the Defence Minister told the National Assembly that the joint agreement reached is an accomplishment of several years of rejection during negotiations.

“Unlike the Jews, Namibia did not have favourable terms when negotiating with the Germans.”
Frans Kapofi

Kapofi further indicated that the two governments have not yet agreed on the wording of the apology which will be tendered by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the National Assembly.

Kapofi noted that President Steinmeier would have visited Namibia earlier this year, but was halted by the country’s third wave of COVID-19 infections.

Nonetheless, Parliamentarians today pointed out that they do not have access to the joint declaration agreement and would want to study it as the discussion continues.

Meanwhile, the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu and Nama Council for Dialogue (ONCD) yesterday, held a public briefing in anticipation of the parliament’s debate on the genocide deal.

The council was part of the nine rounds of negotiations with the two governments and has maintained it accepts the offer although small.

Yet, it yesterday said, insinuating that though the compensatory amount is an acknowledgement, the apology by the German government is “tantamount to selling the blood, suffering and souls of their ancestors for money”.

The chairperson of the ONDC, Chief Gerson Katjirua, said they accept the offer, and that work can start “with the hope that the N$18.1 billion offer would improve over time”.

“The ONCD Chiefs and traditional authorities are not satisfied with said amount . . . However, we resolved to accept this offer, because what is paramount to us it is not the amount of money we are getting from the German government, but the restoration of our dignity.”
Chief Gerson