Rehoboth Basters want more from Sam !Khubis

By Rinelda Mouton

The Rehoboth Baster community is calling on the Namibian government to give greater national recognition to the annual Sam !Khubis commemoration by declaring it a public holiday and incorporating its history into the national school curriculum.

Community members say the move is essential to preserve the history, culture and religious heritage of the Basters, warning that younger generations risk losing touch with one of the defining moments in their history.

Every year on 7 and 8 May, Basters from across Namibia gather at Sam !Khubis, about 80 kilometres southwest of Rehoboth, to honour the covenant their forefathers made with God in 1915 after surviving what they believed would be certain annihilation at the hands of German colonial forces.