The Presidency has dismissed as unfounded and false reports that President Hage Geingob allegedly said Apartheid was worse than the 1904–1908 genocide committed against the Nama and Ovaherero communities by Germany.
Reports said Dr. Geingob allegedly made the statement during a lecture he delivered at the Sciences Po University in France two weeks ago. The Presidency says, contrary to these claims, that President Geingob did not compare the Apartheid regime of South Africa to the genocide carried out by Germany against the Nama and Ovaherero communities.
It clarified that the President only stated as a fact that the apartheid regime of South Africa was equally worse.
The Presidency dismissed a campaign of misinformation and disinformation, which it says is by those who try to resuscitate their political fortunes, including the then DTA politicians who allegedly actively participated in the oppression of the Namibian people during Apartheid. The Presidency stated that there is no evidence of the then-DTA raising the question of genocide with the Apartheid regime and the German government during pre-Independence times.
It says that to demonstrate the urgency and seriousness of closing the chapter of the 1904 genocide, President Geingob formalised and institutionalised discussions with Germany by appointing the late diplomat Dr. Zed Ngavirue as the special envoy in 2015 to lead deliberations with the German government. Dr. Ngavirue led the negotiations until the final draft declaration of May 2021, when the German government admitted that it committed genocide and owed the Namibian people an apology.
This, the Presidency says, is testimony to the fact that Dr. Geingob has never and will never downplay the genocide but would like to seek closure for the reparation and reconstruction of the affected communities.
Even if the issue of the amount in reparations appears insufficient to all, the Presidency says Dr. Geingob has always maintained that financial rewards can never atone for the lives lost. Still, during bilateral talks on September 18 on the margins of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, President Geingob raised the unfinished business of genocide and specifically the quantum with the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz.
It goes on to emphasise the fact that, as a scholar and politician, President Geingob has consistently condemned the oppressive nature of German colonialism in Namibia, which culminated in the first genocide of the 20th century.