Nama and OvaHerero in court today

The Namibian government is watching the New York federal court case with a keen eye, where Germany is being sued for the 1904-08 Nama and OvaHerero genocide.Following the dismissal of its motion to reject the case, Germany is expected to make its first appearance in court today facing the descendants of the Nama and OvaHerero people.The two communities are represented by leading lawyer Kenneth McCallion, who also worked on the settlement of many of the Holocaust claims against Germany and the Swiss banks.The Namibian government's genocide reparations special envoy, Zed Ngavirue, yesterday said he could not comment on the court case but was waiting to see what would transpire today.“It is too early to comment. We will have to wait and see what the judgement is, if there is a judgment. That will obviously create another matter that the Namibian and German governments have to consider,” said Ngavirue. Ida Hofmann, the chairperson of the Nama genocide technical committee, yesterday said they were more than ready for the court case. Hofmann is not part of the delegation that went to New York because she must attend to her ill daughter. “I have to attend to this, because I know this is not the last court hearing. We are looking forward to the proceedings today. I am so sure no one, not the Namibian nor the German government, expected for it to get to this stage,” she said. She added that the affected communities had faith in their lawyer and were convinced of a victory. “We really do not care how long and how far this goes, we will go to the end and make Germany pay,” she said. McCallion this week told Namibian Sun that he would approach the case the same way he did when the represented the Jewish Holocaust claimants. “There are similarities to the Holocaust case against Germany, since both cases involve genocide and unlawful taking of property in violation of international law.“Germany settled its claims with the Holocaust victims, so there should be no impediment to Germany also settling the claims with African victims.“Certainly racial and ethnic differences between the victims of genocide, Holocaust victims being European and white, and the OvaHerero and Nama victims being African and black, should not make a difference to Germany's willingness to come to terms with its past genocidal policies and practices,” he said.According to him, if the Nama and OvaHerero win, they will receive a monetary judgment in an amount to be determined by a jury, plus an order from the judge directing that they be included in the ongoing negotiations with Germany and the Namibian government, assuming the Namibian government is going ahead with its case against Germany.A delegation of approximately 50 representatives of the indigenous people from Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and the United Kingdom, including the paramount chief of the OvaHerero people, Vekuii Rukoro, will attend today's proceedings.On Friday 26 January an OvaHerero and Nama genocide lecture and panel discussion will be hosted by the Association of the OvaHerero Genocide in the USA.JEMIMA BEUKES

Nama and OvaHerero in court today

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-18

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Nama and OvaHerero in court today

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-18

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