Overview
- On May 28, Namibia held its inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day to honor victims of the 1904–1908 Herero and Nama genocide.
- The ceremony in Windhoek’s Parliament Gardens was overshadowed by Herero and Nama groups rejecting the May 28 date and demanding direct involvement in reparations negotiations.
- President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah used the commemoration to reaffirm her administration’s priority of securing binding reparations over development aid from Germany.
- Reparations talks with Germany have been ongoing since 2015 but stalled after a 2021 draft agreement offering €1.1 billion in project funding went unratified due to legal recognition and community participation disputes.
- German Ambassador Thomas Hutter represented Germany at the event as Herero and Nama groups insist on full inclusion in future negotiations and legally binding reparations.