Swartbooi, chiefs invite Amnesty International into genocide court battle

Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi, the Ovaherero Traditional Authority and a group of Nama traditional authorities have asked the High Court to allow Amnesty International to join their legal challenge to the Namibia-Germany joint declaration on the 1904–1908 genocide.

In an application dated 11 August, the applicants seek to have Amnesty International admitted as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, to present written and oral arguments when the main review application is heard.

Amnesty would not become another substantive challenger to the declaration, but would assist the court in identifying relevant domestic, comparative and international legal authorities.

If admitted, Amnesty seeks permission to file written submissions on three main issues identified in paragraph 20 of its founding affidavit, refer the High Court to relevant domestic, comparative and international legal authorities, and present oral arguments when the main review application is heard.

The applicants also want the court to expressly direct that Amnesty’s participation should not alter the issues already being contested between the principal parties, meaning the organisation would assist the court without introducing a separate claim of its own.

The move comes more than three years after Swartbooi, the Ovaherero Traditional Authority, ten other traditional authorities and LPM approached the High Court to challenge the declaration and the manner in which Namibia’s political institutions handled it.

The applicants have asked the High Court to set aside former Speaker Peter Katjavivi’s decision to note the joint declaration in parliament. They have also challenged the legality of the declaration, arguing that the National Assembly did not ratify it and that it is inconsistent with Namibia’s Constitution, the Assembly’s 2006 genocide motion and international law.

The applicants have also argued that the €1.1 billion in development assistance contemplated under the joint declaration does not constitute reparations for the genocide.

The litigation led to the October 2024 High Court decision, which addressed an interlocutory dispute over additional documents sought to be included in the record of the review proceedings and dismissed the application.

The case widened further in 2025 when the applicants attempted to bring the Federal Republic of Germany itself into the Namibian proceedings.

That attempt failed in November 2025 when the High Court refused the application to join Germany as a respondent and also refused permission to serve the proceedings on Germany outside Namibia’s jurisdiction.

The court, however, ordered 24 Namibian traditional authorities to be joined to the proceedings, significantly increasing the number of parties involved in the case.

International support

The latest court papers consequently list 29 respondents, comprising the Speaker of the National Assembly, the National Assembly, the president, Cabinet and the attorney general, followed by the 24 traditional authorities.

The traditional authorities who joined as respondents include the Ondonga, Mbanderu, Kambazembi, Zeraeua, Otjikaoko, Maharero, Kapika and Vaalgras traditional authorities, among others.

The decision by the applicants to seek Amnesty’s involvement comes after the organisation publicly adopted a strong position on the joint declaration and the broader question of reparatory justice for the Ovaherero and Nama.

In October 2025, Amnesty called on Germany to fully acknowledge its legal responsibility for the genocide and provide reparations to descendants of the victims.

It also called on the German and Namibian governments to guarantee the full, effective and meaningful participation of Ovaherero and Nama communities in processes dealing with reparations.

Amnesty has argued that development assistance cannot substitute for full and effective reparations and criticised the negotiations that produced the joint declaration for failing to ensure meaningful participation by representatives of affected Ovaherero and Nama communities.

It has also said reparations under international law can include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, while pointing to ancestral land dispossession, loss of cultural heritage and transgenerational harm among the continuing effects of the genocide.

The court papers identify Amnesty International regional director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, in connection with the supporting affidavit, and lawyer Himeekua Ronald Ketjijere as the legal practitioner for the applicants.

The application is being handled by Brockerhoff & Associates Legal Practitioners, with the applicants asking that costs be sought only against any party opposing Amnesty’s admission.