Namibia says it will ask the German government to renegotiate the deal it agreed last year for payment relating to the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama peoples. In May 2021, the German government for the first time formally recognized the colonial-era atrocities. It is estimated that 60,000 Ovaherero, more than 80% of the ethnic group's total population in the region, and 10,000 Nama, 50% of its population, were killed between 1904 and 1908. Germany announced financial aid worth over €1bn ($1bn; £870m) to descendants.
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But the deal has been criticized by the opposition as flawed. The allegation is that some of the affected communities were not consulted. Namibian National Assembly’s Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba reportedly said the request to review the deal was made in July following discussions in parliament. "The government of Namibia is awaiting a response from the German side on what we have proposed," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying on Thursday. The Namibian newspaper quoted Esther Muinjangue, a deputy minister and head of the National Unity Democratic Organization (Nudo) party, as saying that she was committed to fighting for justice for the affected people.
She said she intended to raise the matter at a forthcoming conference in Germany next week for a renegotiation of the deal. “What we are saying is that the process was not fair, because members of the affected communities were not represented. So, what we are saying is start the process again, because it is not something new,” she is quoted as saying.
