President skips genocide event

Justicia Shipena President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah did not attend the official Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration held in Eenhana on Thursday. Her absence raised eyebrows after she attended the Omaludi Agricultural Festival the previous day in the same region. Namibia marked the day in memory of the tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people killed by German colonial forces between 1904 and 1908 in what is widely recognised as the first genocide of the twentieth century.

Cabinet declared 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day and approved it as a public holiday in 2024. The first official commemoration took place last year at Parliament Gardens. Just days before this year’s event, the Okandjoze Chiefs’ Assembly on Genocide (OCAG) called on the government to adopt a “business unusual” approach in dealing with genocide, apology and reparations.

Despite not attending the national commemoration, Nandi-Ndaitwah released a message stating that the government would continue engaging Germany on genocide, apology and reparations until a “just and meaningful conclusion” is reached. “Our government, together with the affected communities, will continue to engage the Federal Republic of Germany until the matter of the genocide, apology and reparations is brought to a just and meaningful conclusion,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.