Germany traded in body parts
CATHERINE SASMAN
Legal representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama genocide descendants are to petition the United States district court in New York to admit new explosive evidence uncovered last week.
Ovaherero paramount chief, advocate Vekuii Rukoro, said on Wednesday they have found documentary evidence of how the German government, during the colonial period, commercially traded in the human remains of genocide victims in the United States.
The Ovaherero and Nama descendants of victims of the 1904 to 1908 genocide have instituted a court case in the US district court in New York in which they are claiming reparations.
The German government, however, is of the view that the US court does not have any jurisdiction over the sovereign federal state of Germany.
Rukoro, however, said the new evidence forms part of the basis of the Ovaherero and Nama case, which Germany is fighting tooth and nail in court.
“We discovered the new piece of evidence which we did not know before. The new piece of evidence was not available to us, it was hidden from us. Had this piece of evidence been available to us during our appearance in court in July, Germany’s challenge would have been knocked out in the first round,” Rukoro said.
He said upon hearing about the new evidence he immediately gave instructions to their lawyers to prepare the necessary documentation and petition the presiding New York judge to allow the introduction of the evidence in court before giving a verdict.
“The evidence is of direct and significant relevance to our case and to the issues presented to the court,” Rukoro said.
He refused to give any more details of the purported evidence, saying he is not at liberty to disclose too much at this stage, but added it would be the “only honourable thing” for the New York court to allow the evidence.
The court heard extensive arguments from both sides in July and is yet to deliver its judgement.
Rukoro said the Ovaherero community is encouraged by the fact that the court, four months after having heard arguments, is yet to come to a judgement, saying it is a good signal that the Namibians have a case.
Legal representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama genocide descendants are to petition the United States district court in New York to admit new explosive evidence uncovered last week.
Ovaherero paramount chief, advocate Vekuii Rukoro, said on Wednesday they have found documentary evidence of how the German government, during the colonial period, commercially traded in the human remains of genocide victims in the United States.
The Ovaherero and Nama descendants of victims of the 1904 to 1908 genocide have instituted a court case in the US district court in New York in which they are claiming reparations.
The German government, however, is of the view that the US court does not have any jurisdiction over the sovereign federal state of Germany.
Rukoro, however, said the new evidence forms part of the basis of the Ovaherero and Nama case, which Germany is fighting tooth and nail in court.
“We discovered the new piece of evidence which we did not know before. The new piece of evidence was not available to us, it was hidden from us. Had this piece of evidence been available to us during our appearance in court in July, Germany’s challenge would have been knocked out in the first round,” Rukoro said.
He said upon hearing about the new evidence he immediately gave instructions to their lawyers to prepare the necessary documentation and petition the presiding New York judge to allow the introduction of the evidence in court before giving a verdict.
“The evidence is of direct and significant relevance to our case and to the issues presented to the court,” Rukoro said.
He refused to give any more details of the purported evidence, saying he is not at liberty to disclose too much at this stage, but added it would be the “only honourable thing” for the New York court to allow the evidence.
The court heard extensive arguments from both sides in July and is yet to deliver its judgement.
Rukoro said the Ovaherero community is encouraged by the fact that the court, four months after having heard arguments, is yet to come to a judgement, saying it is a good signal that the Namibians have a case.
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