NAMIBIA renewed its demand for reparations from Germany on Wednesday as the country held its first official Genocide Remembrance Day, marking more than 120 years since tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people were massacred by German colonial troops.
Speaking at a ceremony in the gardens of parliament, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said that while Germany has acknowledged its colonial-era atrocities, justice will remain elusive without reparations.
‘We should find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed that the German troops committed a genocide against the people of our land,’ she said, according to AFP. ‘But we must remain committed that as a nation, we shall soldier on until the ultimate conclusion is reached.’
Germany’s recognition stops short of reparations
Between 1904 and 1908, German forces killed an estimated 60,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama after the tribes rebelled against colonial rule. Many were driven into the desert to die of starvation, while others were held in brutal concentration camps. Some victims were beheaded, and their skulls sent to Germany for racist ‘scientific’ studies.
Germany officially recognised the killings as genocide in 2021 after protracted negotiations, but continues to deny direct reparations. Instead, Berlin has pledged €1.1bn in development aid over 30 years, a package Namibia has rejected, insisting that justice requires formal restitution.
Honouring victims and confronting history
Around 1,000 people, including Germany’s ambassador, attended the ceremony in Windhoek, where candles were lit, a minute of silence observed, and traditional songs performed in memory of those killed.
Germany previously returned human remains, including skulls, to Namibia in 2011 and 2018, but many Namibians regard this as symbolic and insufficient.
The new public holiday, Genocide Remembrance Day, will be observed every year on 28 May. The date marks the closure of German-run concentration camps in 1907 following international outcry over their lethal conditions.
Diplomatic tension over genocide and Gaza
The issue of reparations has regained prominence amid wider discontent with Germany’s foreign policy. Namibia has criticised Berlin’s support for Israel in the International Court of Justice, calling it a double standard in the global conversation on genocide.
Many Namibians have drawn a direct line between Germany’s colonial brutality and its reluctance to take full accountability, both historically and in today’s global arena.
‘African nations are increasingly taking the moral high ground,’ said a Windhoek-based analyst. ‘This is no longer just about history—it’s about how the legacy of empire shapes justice today.’
Talks stall as reparations demand grows louder
Formal talks between Germany and Namibia began in 2013, but progress has stalled over Germany’s refusal to label financial support as reparations. Activists and civil society groups continue to press both governments for a more transparent, victim-centred approach.
‘Recognition is important,’ said Nandi-Ndaitwah, ‘but so is restitution. We owe it to the victims and to future generations to see this through.’
