Apartheid worse than genocide, Geingob says

President Hage Geingob said the apartheid regime of South Africa, which Swapo fought against, was ‘worse’ than the genocide committed by Germany against the Nama and Ovaherero ethnic groups.

He made the remarks at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, also known as Sciences Po, late last week.

Between 1904 and 1908, German military forces committed genocide against Namibia’s indigenous populations to gain control over the land.

It is estimated that 80% of the Ovaherero people and 50% of the Nama people perished during the four-year genocide.

In 1915, during World War I, South Africa began a military occupation of Namibia, officially ending Germany’s colonial rule. South Africa maintained apartheid-style control over Namibia until independence was won in 1990 after extended and brutal war waged by Swapo from 1966.

Geingob, during his public lecture in France, opined that apartheid South Africa's actions were more severe. He added that Namibia and Germany have since achieved a great deal of reconciliation.

The president made these remarks in response to questions on the status of a draft joint declaration between Namibia and Germany, with the latter country pledging N$18 billion as reparations.

The deal has been roundly rejected by affected communities.

‘We have peace’

“Reconciliation of Germany and Namibia is there. We have diplomatic relations [with Germany], we have peace. This genocide happened how many years ago? Over a hundred years ago,” he told his audience.

“Then the South Africans took over – they were worse and then Swapo started to fight to free the country.

“After we freed the country, we now have the right to talk about genocide. Some people who talk about the time to reconcile were on South Africa’s side when we were fighting for freedom. Now all of a sudden, the demand is that they must negotiate [for] themselves. Go and convince Germany,” he said.

Geingob added that the Namibian government forced the German government, which was reluctant, to admit a genocide was committed because they “were afraid [to admit it] because they committed other crimes somewhere else”.

He also took issue with the demands by affected communities to negotiate directly with the German government and stressed that sovereign states should negotiate directly because they represent these communities in modern-day Namibia.

The German government said if they are going to conceded to Namibia, other doors would open up to demand compensation, Geingob narrated.

“They also used the excuse that genocide was a World War II concept and did not exist at that time. Throughout the talks, we spoke about genocide and [they] eventually accepted and we said if that bad thing happened, you must apologise. They agreed that their president would come apologise in parliament.”

Price tag

“Then, if you kill people, you must do good [for them]. They were coming with small amounts, small amounts. But firstly we need to ask what the price tag of the life of a person is. Is there a price tag?” Geingob wanted to know.

In 2015, Germany reluctantly recognised that genocide had occurred in Namibia from 1904 to 1908. However, it contended that this acknowledgment of responsibility did not carry any legally binding implications.

Meanwhile, as a result of protests from Namibian civil society, affected communities and opposition parties, the N$18 billion joint declaration has been placed on ice and is yet to be signed by both governments.

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