No ‘closure’ on genocide deal — Nandi-Ndaitwah
Despite saying negotiations are nearing conclusion, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says Namibia will reject any genocide deal with Germany that seeks to “close the chapter”, insisting the country will not accept a once-off reparations settlement that limits future reparations.
Responding to a call of unfair negotiations from Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani, Nandi-Ndaitwah defended the revised joint declaration, arguing that Namibia must keep the door open for future claims and negotiations.
“And now, the joint declaration. Yes, I am aware of the resolution that was passed recently. We supported it. “Maybe you saw my statement and how we supported it,” she said.
The president revealed that the government had already rejected a key clause in earlier negotiations that sought to limit future claims.
“When we first brought the joint declaration here, you remember there was an Article 21 that was talking about closing the chapter. That is where we said no, we cannot accept that. It cannot talk about closing the chapter because we know where they started with the Jews. They did not start at the level where they are now,” she said.
She stressed that Namibia’s position is to begin the process, but not end it prematurely.
“That is exactly what we are saying: let us start, but we must leave it open. That is why it is now open in the joint declaration.”
Her remarks come amid intensifying pressure from opposition benches, where Venaani questioned both the fairness and scale of Germany’s proposed reparations package.
“The [United Nations] has declared a resolution on slavery, demanding trillions of dollars. Why are you allowing Germans to practise apartheid atonement for the genocide victims in these numbers?” Venaani questioned.
He argued that Germany’s long-standing compensation to Jewish victims starkly contrasts with the offer on the table for Namibia.
“The Germans have been paying the Jews $1 billion every year for the last 18 years. They have paid $90 billion… but they want to pay the remaining $1 billion over the next 25 years,” he said.
Venaani further pressed the government on whether it is negotiating firmly enough for affected communities.
“So, is the government ready to position the negotiations in a way that ensures we get a fair deal… and that we do not allow apartheid atonement and reparations to be given?”
Nandi-Ndaitwah, however, maintained that the revised framework already reflects a strategic shift.
“In the review of the joint declaration, we will continue to ensure that, in the same way they are treating the Jews, they should also treat us, hence the opening that we now have,” she said. “Instead of saying that once we are given this $1.1 billion, then everything is closed.”
She added that the focus is on a long-term process rather than a once-off settlement.
“So the healing, what we call low-weighted healing, is going to be real healing that they have to take through a process.”
In her State of the Nation Address on Wednesday, the president confirmed that negotiations with Germany are nearing conclusion after more than a decade of talks over the 1904–1908 Ovaherero and Nama genocide.
“A conclusion is now within reach, possibly before the year’s end. We count on our collective political will to close this dark chapter and begin the long-awaited process of healing,” she said.
Last year, Josef Kauandenge, president of the Association for Localised Interest (Asoli), expressed outrage over the absence of those he described as the true representatives of the descendants of the 1904 genocide.
Kauandenge described the official programme as “a travesty” for sidelining traditional chiefs.
“What is perplexing to the core is the absolute absence of any traditional chiefs on the official programme. It does not sit well with the descendants and their traditional chiefs that they have been ignored on their day,” Kauandenge said.
He further accused Nandi-Ndaitwah’s administration of deliberately sidelining traditional authorities and warned that history would not look kindly on the omission.
“It’s the government’s programme. It has nothing to do with the descendants. Sad but true,” Kauandenge added.
Landless People's Movement (LPM) head of the human rights desk Joyce Muzengua last year also accused the government of not having consulted the Nama and OvaHerero communities adequately.
"You cannot sit with a group of five or 10 people and decide. You cannot speak to a Nama or a Herero and decide on that. There must be wide consultations," Muzengua said.
Germany officially acknowledged the atrocities as genocide in 2016 and, in 2021, offered about N$21.4 billion in development aid over 30 years.
Muzengua said the affected tribes' reparation demands are based on five elements: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, guarantees of non-repetition and satisfaction.
So far, the affected communities have tabled three figures: N$9 trillion, N$450 billion and N$250 billion.
Muzengua said the proposed figures are based on the loss of lives, livestock and cultural heritage.
She explained that the communities are assessing their current circumstances in contrast to how they might have developed had the genocide not occurred.
Muzengua said the Namas and Ovahereros are minorities who cannot decide on their demands unless they go to court, which is an expensive route.
