Forgotten clans find their voices

Descendants of the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu and Nama groups that were exiled into the then British protectorate of Bechuanaland are jostling for inclusion in the genocide and reparation talks between the Namibian and German governments. However, head of state Hage Geingob is reportedly on record saying the Namibian government can only negotiate with Germany on behalf of Namibian citizens.The Ovambanderu and Ovaherero groups in Botswana, alongside Nama groupings, have begun flirting with their government to engage the Namibian authorities for their inclusion in the genocide and reparation claims. Spokesperson of the Nama Development Trust in Botswana, Nicodemus Cooper, who witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between their brothers and sisters in Namibia, the Botswana Ovambanderu and Ovaherero and the Namibian government negotiating team last week, said although they were not signatories he appreciated the efforts of his countrymen.“(The) Nama in Botswana at this point are not ready to join any faction. We are still at the consultation process that needs to reach out to the scattered Nama groups in Botswana. We need to reach an informed position on how to address the issue,” said Cooper, who is the great-grandchild of Kaptein Simon Kooper, the Nama resistance leader who fought German colonial occupation during 1904. Exiled by Germans to the British protectorate of Bechuanaland during the war, Kooper died at Kgatla Pan in Botswana in 1913.Cooper extended an invitation to the Nama Genocide Technical Committee in Namibia to come to the Nama groups in Botswana and inform them of their position.The genocide technical committee of the Ovambanderu and Ovaherero grouping on genocide in Botswana is not aligned to the Ovaherero paramount chief in Namibia, Advocate Vekuii Rukoro. However, another faction in Botswana transferred their power of attorney to Rukoro to represent them.The technical committee of the Ovambanderu and Ovaherero groups on genocide in Botswana has preferred to engage their government on the issue of joining the reparations talks spearheaded by the Namibian government. They want to sit on the technical committee with Namibian Ovambanderu and Ovaherero genocide descendants, which has aligned with the Namibian government's negotiating team. The groups, according to Cooper, believe they must consult the Botswana government to endorse their course and in their efforts they have even consulted the Nama community in Botswana. Botswana perspectiveThe Botswana Nama Development Trust, in solidarity, came to Namibia as observers and to present their intention of approaching the genocide issue from a Botswana perspective.“We had to agree to come so that the Nama can view for themselves what is at stake,” Cooper said.According to him the Ovambanderu and Ovaherero technical committee in Botswana invited the Nama groups in Botswana to consider joining them.He explained that since the meeting in Windhoek last Tuesday the Nama community in Botswana now understood they need to deepen their understanding and therefore there has to be broad consultation in that country.Cooper said the Nama are in the Kgalagadi and Ghazni districts, as well as elsewhere in Botswana, and because of logistics they are currently not yet ready to decide on a path together.He said during their earlier consultations in Botswana it become clear the Ovambanderu and Ovaherero in the neighbouring country needed to approach their ministry of foreign affairs. The groups made a subsequent visit to the Namibian High Commission in Botswana as well as the German embassy and also extended invitations to the Botswana Nama Development Trust. Edwin Saidoo is the chairperson of the trust. They attended the meetings as observers as they are not yet aligned to any grouping. He said Saidoo attended the meeting of the Ovambanderu and Ovaherero groups with the German ambassador, who advised them to contact their Namibian counterparts.“The Germans alleged in that meeting no fight took place between the Germans and the Nama in Botswana. They said there are ongoing negotiations between Namibia and the Germans therefore they cannot open another negotiating platform in Botswana,” he said.Cooper explained he is aware there was fighting between German troops in the then South West Africa and Kaptein Kooper on the soil of the British protectorate of Bechuanaland.“The last battle between the !Kharakhoen Nama clan under the leadership of Simon Kooper and the German Schuttstruppe took place in 1908 at Polontshwa near Sitachwe. About 58 Nama died in that battle with a number of German soldiers,” he said.He maintained this information is archived and they are aware of these events through oral history and research. Deported to Togo, Cameroon“It is well-recorded and there for everybody to see that Simon Kooper and Hendrik Witbooi's people were deported by the Germans to Togo and Cameroon, where most of them died. It is because of these reasons that we are cautious, because we do not want to leave anything untouched,” he said. He further explained the Namibian high commissioner to Botswana said he understands that Nama and Ovaherero descendants of the 1904 to 1908 genocide are living in the neighbouring country.Cooper said it cannot be denied that there are Namibian descendants who are now Botswana citizens. “The Namibian high commissioner said the foreign ministry of Botswana should address this issue, in order to formalise a meeting and address the ongoing negotiations,” he said.He argued that this took the Ovambanderu, Ovaherero and Nama in Botswana back to their foreign ministry.Last December the groups managed to secure an appointment with then foreign minister, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, and presented their case to her for advice.He said the foreign minister appreciated the efforts of the technical committee to consult the Botswana government and praised them for respecting the laws of the country.Venson-Moitoi, however, added she was not in a position to write a formal letter. She said she was not yet conversant with the genocide at that stage, as it was not deliberated on in Botswana.The then minister further told them that the technical committee in Botswana should meet their counterparts in Namibia, according to Cooper. Mbumba positiveThe Ovambanderu, Ovaherero and Nama from Botswana met with their Namibian counterparts last Tuesday and consequently with Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba. The heads of delegation spoke to Mbumba, who apparently said the engagement was a positive sign and timely meeting, which was very critical for the purposes of unity.The Botswana Ovambanderu and Ovaherero and their counterparts in Namibia signed a memorandum of understanding. However, the Botswana Nama did not sign.“Without going into the details of the undertaking it was generally a positive and productive meeting. The Nama from Botswana were aware of the intention (of the other groupings) to sign a memorandum of understanding between the two technical committees,” Cooper confirmed.FRED GOEIEMAN

Forgotten clans find their voices

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-30

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Forgotten clans find their voices

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-30

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