A DELEGATION of the genocide committee from Botswana yesterday signed an agreement with their Namibian counterparts to have a united approach in their demands for reparations from the German government.
The Botswana Society for Nama, Herero and Mbanderu, comprising 17 delegates, including traditional chiefs and members of the genocide technical committees, arrived in Windhoek on Sunday.
About 50 members from both countries, led by acting chief Gerson K Katjirua, the chairperson of the Ovaherero/Ovambanderu and Nama Council for the dialogue on the 1904-1908 Genocide (ONCD), met vice president Nangolo Mbumba and government’s special envoy on genocide, Zed Ngavirue, as well as the chairperson of the technical committee, ambassador Tonata Itenge Emvula in Windhoek yesterday.
The group asked the government to reconsider the involvement of representatives of their people in the diaspora in the ongoing negotiations between Germany and Namibia with the representatives of the descendants of the genocide victims.
Secretary general of the ONCD, Uerikua Tjikuua yesterday said the vice president had promised to take the matter up with Cabinet and President Hage Geingob.
In a joint statement read by Tjikuua, the two groups said the purpose of their agreement was to strengthen and expand relations and cooperation between the two parties on all issues about the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu and Nama genocide perpetrated by the Germans between 1904 and 1908. “We recognise the inherent common interest in the well-being of the descendants of the victims of the genocide, and therefore seek to strengthen and further develop cooperation between the two parties in our struggle towards the acknowledgement of the genocide,” he added.
He said the partnership is influenced by the desire to unite their people, both in Namibia and the diaspora, to carry out their activities within the framework of the laws governing both Namibia and Botswana, as well as international legal instruments.
The groups have agreed to form a joint technical committee to have joint meetings, press conferences, outreaches and other types of activities related to the genocide.
The agreement also states that the designated authority for the implementation of this memorandum of understanding on behalf of the Botswana Society for Nama, Herero and Mbanderu and on behalf of the ONCD shall be the respective technical committees.
Public relations and international affairs secretary of the Botswana society, Jazenga Uezesa Kahanga, said the united approach was their first step to communicate their demands to the German government effectively.
“We, the affected people, really need to work tirelessly to forge every bit of cooperation through unity of purpose from one stage to another. The stage we are in right now is demanding that Germans accept what they did, extending an apology to us, and thirdly reparations,” he stated.
Kahanga said if the German government fails to meet these demands, then they will be forced to look at other drastic measures, including submitting a petition to the United Nations before seeking legal interventions.
The delegation returns to Botswana today.
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