VP urges Namibians to preserve genocide history

Staff Reporter VICE President Lucia Witbooi has called on Namibians to remain united in preserving the country’s history, promoting justice and reconciliation, and rejecting division as the nation commemorated Genocide Remembrance Day on Thursday. Speaking in Eenhana in the Ohangwena Region during the national commemoration, Witbooi said the day serves as a solemn reminder of the 1904–1908 genocide committed against the Ovaherero and Nama people during German colonial rule, while also honouring those who resisted oppression and laid the foundation for Namibia’s independence. Quoting President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s message during the inaugural commemoration in 2025, Witbooi said Genocide Remembrance Day symbolises unity, inclusivity, reconciliation, and nation-building for all Namibians.

She said the events of 1904–1908 were not isolated tragedies, but defining moments in Namibia’s history that exposed the brutality of colonial oppression while also revealing the courage and resilience of the Namibian people. Photos: Vice President of Namibia (Facebook) “The resistance of our forebears against dispossession, extermination, and injustice became the moral and political foundation upon which later generations built the struggle for independence,” Witbooi said.