Namibia ‘Agrees Deal’ Over Germany Colonial Genocide

Germany has entered a deal with Namibia to pay reparations for colonial era genocide at the beginning of last century.

The agreement includes a formal apology by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for the atrocities against the Nema-Herero people, the UK Times newspaper reported.

Between 1904-1908 German colonial forces brutally suppressed uprisings by the Nama and Herero and driving others to a desert where they starved to death.

About 65,000 of the 80,000 Herero and 10,000 of an estimated 20,000 Nama people are thought to have died.

Germany formally acknowledged that the atrocities constituted genocide in 2015 and has since been negotiating a restorative justice deal.

It is now expected to provide compensation by funding social projects benefiting the descendants of the survivors.

Namibia’s special envoy on the genocide, Zed Ngavirue, told the Namibian newspaper on Monday that they had fruitful negotiations with Germany on the matter without disclosing the details.