Azra Hoosen | azrah@radioislam.co.za
23rd January 2024 | 13:00 CAT
3 min read

Namibia has condemned Germany’s decision to support Israel in the genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) brought by South Africa, as Israel’s war on Gaza continues.

“On Namibian soil, Germany committed the first genocide of the 20th century in 1904-1908, killing tens of thousand innocent Namibians in the most inhumane and brutal conditions,” Namibian President Hage Geingob said in a press release.

Geingod reiterated that Germany cannot morally express commitment to the United Nations Convention against genocide, including atonement for the genocide in Namibia, whilst supporting the equivalent of a holocaust and genocide in Gaza.

“Various international organizations, such as Human Rights Watch have chillingly concluded that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza,” he added.

Understanding the Herero and Nama Genocide

A fourth-generation survivor of the Nama and Herero genocide, Sima Luipert, learned of the atrocities her great-grandmother and Namibians endured, through bedtime stories. She told Radio Islam about her link to the genocide:

“My great-grandmother was a survivor. An extermination camp was established at the height of the genocide in 1904, and when these camps were closed, prisoners, including my great-grandmother were sent to slave labour concentration camps. These prisoners were rented out to private companies for infrastructure projects and to new German settlers who took over the agricultural land that was expropriated from 1905 onwards during the genocide. My great-grandmother worked as a slave for the German settler family and was sexually violated by them, leading to the birth of my grandmother in 1914. I was about 8 years old when my great-grandmother passed away. But the stories were narrated to us as bedtime stories by my grandmother and this is the link I have to the genocide,” explained Luipert.

More than 60,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama were slain by German troops between 1904 and 1908, according to the Namibian Parliament.

“The German officials decapitated Herero and Nama people, forcing female prisoners to scrape the faces and flesh off boiled heads, which they took to do medical research on, to prove the theory of African inferiority. Rape, floggings, execution by gunpoint, and hanging were common methods of extermination as well as working natives to death through starvation. Water holes were also poisoned by German officials. There was no access to medical treatment or natural resources. Cold weather conditions and diseases were also causes of death of the Nama people.”

Luipert said that the genocide had been justified by Germany using colonial international law.

“Since 1990, the political struggles to address the impacts of German colonialism have become much stronger amongst the Nama and Herero communities, and after lengthy discussions in 2006, a motion was brought to the Namibian Parliament to commence negotiations with Germany. From the onset, the two communities insisted on a tri-lateral negotiation process and demanded reparation for the genocide and losses. In 2021, the US court case was dismissed on grounds of jurisdiction, and administrative procedures, but the agreement that was made between Namibia and Germany was met with massive protest from Namibian people. In late 2022 to 2023, the two governments allegedly negotiated an addendum to the joint declaration with both maintaining that there would be no renegotiations. In 2023, an application was filed, to declare the negotiations null and void. Currently, negotiations are still pending,” said Luipert.

In 2021, Germany accepted responsibility for what is considered the first genocide of the 20th century. Ironically, we now have Germany, who accepted responsibility for two genocides, coming to the defense of Israel, as they face accusations of committing genocide.

The president appealed to the German government to reconsider its decision to intervene as a third party in defense and support of Israel before the ICJ.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Suhaib Lasanya and activist in the Nama Traditional Leaders Association Technical Committee on Genocide, Sima Luipert, here.