The Cassinga Memorial Park in Angola has reached 99% physical completion and is ready for inauguration, nine years after Namibia and Angola began construction of the joint project.
Defence and veterans affairs minister Frans Kapofi made the announcement after a joint inspection of the memorial park in Cassinga, Huíla Province, during the Namibia-Angola Joint High-Level Committee meeting held from 18 to 23 September.
Speaking on Wednesday, Kapofi said the inspection was aimed at assessing the park’s readiness for inauguration and determining the way forward on outstanding matters.
He said the project had faced several hurdles since construction began in 2017, but was now close to completion.
The memorial park honours the victims of the 4 May 1978 Cassinga massacre, where South African forces under the apartheid regime attacked Namibian refugees at the settlement.
More than 900 people, mostly women and children, were killed and buried in mass graves at the site.
“The park is more than physical infrastructure. It would preserve the memory of those who died and serve as a symbol of the historic solidarity between Namibia and Angola,” he said.
He said the two governments reaffirmed their commitment to completing the remaining works and inaugurating the park at the earliest mutually convenient opportunity.
Kapofi said the progress made during the meeting would allow him to return to Namibia with confidence that president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah would soon receive an invitation from Angolan president João Lourenço to co-inaugurate the memorial park.
