During Germany’s colonial rule in Namibia from 1904 to 1908, colonizers exterminated an estimated 80 percent of the Ovaherero and 50 percent of the Nama people and seized roughly 80 percent of ancestral Nama land. The damage to the livelihood and identity of these communities has been transmitted across generations. A long‑established principle in human‑rights law holds that those affected by abuses should receive effective remedies to right the wrongs. In the case of Germany’s colonial‑era atrocities in Namibia, the German government has failed to uphold this principle, and by aligning with Germany, the Namibian government has also let its own people down.
A 2021 declaration between Germany and Namibia pledged €1.1 billion for development projects over 30 years. However, the Ovaherero and Nama peoples—those most affected by the legacy of German colonial crimes—were excluded from the negotiations and only shown the final text of the reparations deal. Despite pressure, the German government told its parliament this month that it would not reopen the process. The neglect is not limited to Germany; in November 2022, Namibia’s Vice President Nangolo Mbumba called for further talks to increase the amount of Germany’s pledge and shorten the payment period, yet made no reference to including the affected communities.
Germany argues that there is no legal basis for individual or collective reparations to the descendants of Ovaherero and Nama victims of the colonial genocide. Yet human‑rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights suggest otherwise. On 20 January, Namibian opposition members and representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama peoples filed a case before Namibia’s High Court, demanding that Namibia renegotiate the joint declaration on reparations. They contend that the agreement violates a 2006 Namibian parliamentary resolution that required a tripartite reparations process involving the descendants of the genocide’s victims. While the court has not yet issued a decision, the case represents an unprecedented legal challenge to an intergovernmental agreement on colonial crimes before a former colony’s court.
If Germany truly wishes to rectify the wrongs of its colonial past, it must place the affected people and their voices at the centre of the process.
— Almaz Teffera, Researcher, Racism in Europe
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