For the first time after 121 years Namibia formally paid homage to thousands of people who were killed by the colonial German Federal Government between the years 1904 and 1908.
At the time when the territory was known as German South West Africa, a massacre took place in southern Namibia, during which some 100 000 Ovaherero and Nama people were recorded as having been killed by German troops through gunshots, hangings and starvation.
This followed an onslaught led by German General Lothar von Trotha after, on 2 October 1904, he issued the first extermination order against the Ovaherero. On 22 April 1905, the same Von Trotha issued an extermination order against the Nama people.
The extermination orders were issued after the people resisted the colonial German government’s rule.
While it took more than a hundred years for the German Federal Government to acknowledge or admit its fault for causing what became known as the first genocide of the 20th Century, it also took many years for the Government of Namibia to acknowledge the horrific event and declare it as worthy of national recognition.
The former President Nangolo Mbumba in 2024 declared that starting in 2025, the 28th of May would be a national public holiday and a day to be known as the Genocide Remembrance Day.
Today, during an event that took place in Windhoek, hundreds of people gathered to commemorate the Genocide Remembrance Day.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah who delivered the keynote address said that the day was decided on to be one of the many public holidays in May after wide consultations with stakeholders.
The 28th of May of 1908 was the day the German Federal Government declared the war against the indigenous people to be over and concentration camps were closed.
“These horrendous acts are now part of our collective history of resistance and resilience in our march to freedom. Namibia is today free, peaceful and we are now focusing on the task of building a country in which each citizen can fulfil their potential,” President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
“However, we shall never forget the emotional, psychological, economic and cultural scars which remain etched in the affected communities and the broader fabric of our nation.
In that vein, our presence at this occasion marks a decisive step forward in dealing with the past by collectively remembering and sharing the pain of the directly affected Ovaherero and Nama communities.
“Genocide Remembrance Day, which is a public holiday, should be a powerful reminder about our shared resolve to continue on the path of nation-building, reconciliation and healing the wounds of the past.
“This day must always make us to recognise what our brave ancestors endured in defence of this land.”
The President stated that the nation “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. We must remain committed that as a nation, we shall soldier until the ultimate conclusion is reached.
“As a united nation, we should remember the victims and honour the resilience of the affected communities, and we must acknowledge the significant steps taken to address with ‘One Heart and One Mind’ the historical injustices that were visited upon the people of our land.”
In the photo: President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah delivering a message at the Genocide Remembrance Day, where hundreds of people were gathered.
