Genocide reparation documents 'disappear'

Documents, including minutes of meetings between Namibian and German technical committees, have apparently disappeared.

This recently came to light in a case in the Windhoek High Court, brought by Bernadus Swartbooi, the Landless People's Movement (LPM) and 11 traditional authorities against the government.

The court application seeks to annul the controversial joint statement between Namibia and Germany - in which the German government agreed to pay Namibia 1.1 billion euros (N$18.6 billion) in projects over 30 years for the reconciliation and reconstruction of affected communities of the Nama-Herero genocide from 1904 to 1908.

According to government representatives, the missing documents also include a directive to the special political cabinet committee by the technical committee on 24 March 2022 as well as minutes of various special cabinet committee meetings.

They also told the court that the addendum, financing agreement, the concept framework for a special purpose vehicle and the joint concept statement with amendments are still being negotiated by the two governments.



Still being drawn up

Penda Naanda, the executive director of the international relations and cooperation ministry, said in his affidavit that these documents, which have not disappeared, are still being drawn up by representatives of the Namibian and German governments.

Some of the documents related to the negotiations are also subject to attorney-client privilege, he said.

"Some documents cannot be located despite a diligent search for them. Some documents are still being prepared,” Naanda said.

He further accused Swartbooi and the traditional leaders of not having acted in good faith by demanding documents that had not yet been negotiated by the two governments and thereby apparently hindering the negotiation.



'Impossible'

Swartbooi and the traditional leaders responded through their legal representative, Patrick Kauta, that it is impossible to believe that some of the documents are still in draft form or are still being negotiated.

They pointed out that they are entitled to all documents that were presented to the decision-makers and that would be relied upon to make the decisions. "It is difficult to imagine that anything can be negotiated at the moment, as the Namibian and German governments have given notice of the joint statement. The joint statement could not be accepted without the negotiations that led to the adoption of the joint statement being completed."

The missing documents reportedly include signed, duly dated and approved minutes of a meeting between the Namibian and German technical committees at Midgard Lodge from 9 to 11 March 2022.

A copy of the addendum proving the incorporation of the proposed changes and amendments by the attorney-general is also still being sought.

They are also still looking for the approved minutes of both the consultative committee meeting of stakeholders, which took place from 4 to 6 October 2023, as well as a copy of the draft financing agreement and a copy of the addendum and financing agreement.