Germany to pay Namibia €1.1bn in reparations for colonial genocide

Germany has accepted to pay Namibia €1.1bn as reparation for genocide committed during its colonial-era occupation of the African country.

The reparation will be in a form of financial support for Namibia’s development through a programme.

Per the deal of the reparation there will be funding paid over 30 years through spending on infrastructure, healthcare and training programmes benefiting the impacted communities.

On Friday Foreign Minister Heiko Maas officially acknowledged that the colonial-era killings constituted genocide.

“In light of Germany’s historical and moral responsibility, we will ask Namibia and the descendants of the victims for forgiveness,” he said.

A spokesman for the Namibian government told the AFP news agency that Germany’s recognition was “a first step in the right direction”.

But some traditional leaders have refused to endorse the deal, criticizing the package offered.

In 2020, Namibia’s government rejected an offer from Germany meant to settle the atrocities committed by German troops between 1904 to 1908.

The slaughter of more than 100,000 people by the Germans took place when Namibia was a German colony known as South-West Africa.

The Herero and Nama ethnic groups in Namibia had rebelled against German rule in response to the expropriation of their land and cattle by Germany.

The head of the military administration in the region, Lothar von Trotha, ordered the massacre in response to the uprising.

The indigenous Herero and Nama people had to flee their lands. Those killed were people found trying to return to their expropriated lands.

About 65,000 of the 80,000 Herero and 10,000 of an estimated 20,000 Nama people are thought to have died.

According to many published reports, victims were subjected to harsh conditions in concentration camps, and some had their skulls sent to Germany for scientific experiments.

Official negotiations between the Germans and Namibia have been going on for the past five years.