Mbumba, Scholz discuss reparations impasse

President Nangolo Mbumba, who is currently in Germany for a working visit, has met with chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss, among other things, the Nama and Ovaherero genocide reparations negotiations. This has been confirmed by presidential press secretary Alfredo Hengari, who is also in Germany. In 2021, Germany offered N$18.6 billion as a once-off reparations payment to the Nama and Ovaherero people. The package, which is to be paid over a 30-year period, has been roundly rejected by the affected communities, who called it an insult.The deal has since been placed on hold, with demands for a better settlement.The negotiations are the result of a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment which was waged against Ovaherero and Nama people in Namibia between 1904 and 1908. By the end of the conflict, between 50 000 and 65 000 Ovahereros and roughly 10 000 Namas had been murdered by the German ruling forces.Long roadMbumba has institutional memory of the reparation negotiations process, having been in charge of it during his time as Namibian vice-president. Hengari told Namibian Sun yesterday that Mbumba held bilateral talks and touched on the issue of genocide reparations.“Both [Mbumba and Scholz] agreed to reach a stage where the issue is concluded for the benefit of the affected communities. President Mbumba is determined to ensure that the question of genocide reparations with Germany is resolved in a manner that speaks to the scale of what happened in the past. He has worked determinedly on this question for the past seven years, first as vice-president and now as president,” he said. These bilateral discussions took place in Hamburg on the sidelines of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. - jemima@nmh-hub.com.na

Mbumba, Scholz discuss reparations impasse

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Mbumba, Scholz discuss reparations impasse

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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