HUNGIREE WILSON BILLAWER
THE RECENT CALL for objections against the renaming of Von Trotha street at Otjiwarongo to Theo Borstlap street is a welcome and progressive move by the town’s municipality.
However, we should be aware of the fact that the name to be replaced is that of a recognised and infamous genocider, Lothar von Trotha. Von Trotha led the officially sanctioned genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama communities (1904-1908) and other indigenous communities such as the San and Damara.
During this genocide process, the entire histories and cultures of Namibians in central and southern Namibia were erased and replaced by those of the colonisers, even though the name Otjiwarongo survived the colonial renaming approach.
Filled with good intentions and motivations, the municipality’s approach to propose the name of a prominent business figure was a hurried decision.
TAPPING HISTORY
A better approach would have been to collect names from the diverse residents of the town and call for open discussions to arrive at the most acceptable name to replace a name as notorious as Von Trotha.
Moreover, it would have been even better to delve into the histories and cultures erased during the genocide and choose one name from that harsh and dark moment in our country’s history.
One comes across important names from historical accounts of the town such as Gûdi-//Gams (older name for Otjiwarongo amongst the Damaras, referring to the beautiful acacia trees known today as -basterkameelboom-), Fritz !Gamsuab and Ezekiel Muruko (both deceased and post-genocide male historians of the town), as mentioned in Van der Merwe (1981).
The historical names remain little known in official Namibian history because of the dominant colonial history of erasure.
Amongst other names that come to mind is that of Uamburu, who settled in this area probably in the late 1700s or early 1800s – one of his descendants’ graves was marked as being erected in the 1870s.
What is interesting about Uamburu is that his name historically entered the Ovaherero ancestral place praises for Otjiwarongo. The town is universally referred to by the Herero-speaking community as “the old place of the sons of Uamburu…”, and continues to be used up until today.
Of course, with more authentic research we can find more influential names from the genocide period which, this time, must include female personalities who have long been neglected in historical accounts.
The Otjiwarongo municipality should seize the moment and engage in meaningful dialogue on the name change so as to get closer to what can be described as genuine reconciliation and healing.
This should be seen as a move away from an exclusive reconciliation referred to by Du Pisani (2001) as an arrangement between the former colonisers and the new black elites.
GENUINE RECONCILIATION
Genuine reconciliation should be seen as embracing all people of the town, rich or poor, privileged or marginalised.
Mbenzi (2019) warned us that if consultations and dialogue on name changes are not broad enough, then discontent, unhappiness and tensions will ensue.
I can add to this argument that such tensions can become a breeding ground for unending street renamings, even those changed post-colonially.
Looking at the motivation of the Otjiwarongo Council’s Street Naming and Renaming Policy’s Clause 7 in support of personalities proposed, that reads “the proposed is credited with outstanding achievement in the areas of cultural, educational, social, sport, or economic development of the town or region”.
The motivation is noble in its own right. However, it risks becoming an exclusive and elite only affair if not fine-tuned.
Such fine-tuning should recognise that the town consists of different races, ethnic groupings, cultures, histories, the privileged, the poor, women, youths and many other groupings found in any urban setting.
Thus, a humble request to the Otjiwarongo municipality to extend the deadline for objections by one or two months, and to create a platform (a la kgotla, soxa !ais, olupale, sinyanga, omuvanda, etc) for dialogue on the Von Trotha name change.
And please do not forget the elders of the town. In this way, we will discover what a rich history Otjiwarongo has, and what a beautiful place it is to live at.
* Hungiree Wilson Billawer is a PhD holder in urban and regional planning from the University of the Free State, a spatial indigenous knowledge systems expert, and a community poet. Any constructive discussion on indigenous knowledge systems and the creation of inclusive, sustainable and healthy settlements can be forwarded to wbillawer@yahoo.com or via LinkedIn.
