The Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) says they expect tangible outcomes from the engagements president Nangolo Mbumba is set to have with various traditional leaders on the issue of the 1904-1908 genocide negotiations.
Speaking to Desert Radio on Tuesday, OTA paramount chief Hoze Riruako said the planned consultations should differ from previous engagements.
“We welcome the president’s planned engagements but they need to yield a different outcome,” Riruako said.
The presidency announced on Sunday that Mbumba will visit various traditional authorities in the south after consulting with those in the north earlier.
On the top of the agenda is the 1904-1908 genocide repatriation negotiations, noted a statement from the presidency.
Riruako attended a genocide memorial event at Swakopmund over the weekend where he told various stakeholders that the narrative of the repartriations needs to be in their hands.
“There exists only one lasting solution to the genocide and it lies among Hereros, Mbanderus, the Nama, the German communities in Namibia and indeed those in the diaspora, to sit around the same table and in all earnest craft and conclude writing the final chapter in the ugly past of our people,” he said over the weekend.
He further told Desert Radio that the acknowledgement to further discuss the issue by German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier at late president Hage Geingob’s funeral was a good step.
“It was a great first step […] they (German government) have to sit down and look us in the eyes and apologise and ask us what it is that we want,” he said
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