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Ovambanderu will not boycott Genocide Remembrance Day – Ngahahe – Namibian 27-05-2025

“Ovambanderu will not boycott Genocide Remembrance Day – Ngahahe

By Namibia Press Agency

27 May 2025

[The spokesperson of the Ovambanderu Traditional Authority, Uazenga Ngahahe, has confirmed that the Ovambanderu community will participate in the inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration. – Missing first sentence of the NAMPA story; ed.]

The commemoration event will take place at Parliament Gardens in Windhoek on Wednesday.

Ngahahe’s announcement follows calls by some affected communities to boycott the official commemoration, citing historical inaccuracies, exclusion from the programme, and unresolved demands for restorative justice.

He says despite these concerns, the Ovambanderu would not shy away from commemorating a day that honours their ancestors, who suffered atrocities under German colonial rule.

“We were the first people to be massacred by the Germans in 1894, when our chief Kahimemua Nguvauva was cruelly executed. Kahimemua was shot 12 times before he died,” Ngahahe says. He notes that following Chief Nguvauva’s death, German authorities, under Theodor Leutwein’s orders, forcibly placed the Ovambanderu under Ovaherero leadership, an act that remains a painful memory for the community.

Responding to criticism about the exclusion of some affected communities from the event’s official programme, Ngahahe says the chairperson of the Council of Traditional Authorities, Chief Immanuel Gaseb, will deliver a speech on behalf of all affected communities.

[…].”