Namibia officially marked its inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day in a solemn ceremony held on Wednesday.
The day was dedicated to honoring the more than 100,000 Ovaherero and Nama people tragically killed by German colonial forces between 1904 and 1908.
During the commemorative event, the President, Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, addressed the gathering, expressing the nation’s satisfaction with the German government’s commitment to offering a public apology regarding the genocide. This long-awaited development is a significant step in the ongoing process of addressing the historical atrocities and seeking reconciliation.
“We should also find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed to offer an apology to the affected communities and the Namibian people in general. We may not agree on the final quantum, but that is part of the complex negotiations we have been engaged in with the German Government since 2013,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She encouraged the affected communities to continue working with the government in finding a long-lasting solution to the reparation negotiations with Germany.
The President said the commemoration coincides with the celebration of Africa Day, which was celebrated on Monday.
“We celebrated the 62nd Anniversary for the Founding of the Organization of African Unity which is African Union today, under the theme “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations”. This theme is talking to the engagement between the two governments of Namibia and Germany to conclude the negotiations on Genocide, Apology and Reparations,” she said.
The Genocide Remembrance Day followed a motion introduced in the National Assembly in 2016, which led to a nationwide consultation process undertaken between 2017 and 2020.
These consultations, led by Parliament, engage communities across the country. particularly the affected communities. In identifying a day of national significance that would serve to unify the nation in remembrance.
As a result of this inclusive process, May 28 was proposed and received widespread support.
The date holds deep historical significance, marking the day in 1907 when the German colonial authorities ordered the closure of concentration camps. This event brought an end to the systematic and brutal killings.
