Demo against Von Trotha comes under fire

A RECONCILIATION ceremony at Okahandja with members of the Von Trotha family and descendants of Chief Samuel Maharero had to be held in a churchyard on Saturday instead of the plot of the Herero Red Flag Commando.

About 20 protesters waving posters greeted the delegation of Chief Alfons Maharero and refused them access to the premises for the planned meeting. Maharero is also a member of the Red Flag Commando.Slogans like ‘The Commando is for all Hereros, not the Von Trothas’ and ‘We do not see why you are here and therefore we shall not welcome you in our fatherland’ were written on the posters.The group said they were acting on the instructions of Chief Kuaima Riruako, who calls himself Paramount Chief of all the Hereros but is finding himself sidelined by other Herero Chiefs.Riruako is accused of trying to hijack the Herero drive for dialogue with and reparation payments from the German government by making it his personal campaign.Two weeks ago, a few days before the arrival of the Von Trotha family, Riruako was quoted on NBC radio as threatening the family that something might happen to them during their stay in Namibia and that they should “bring their own security”.On Saturday morning, the leader of the protesters, Ismael Kamuhapita, told The Namibian he had written to the Okahandja Police command, saying that the planned event should not take place at the premises.Upon his arrival at the Herero Red Flag Commando site on Saturday morning and being confronted by the protesters, Chief Maharero immediately decided to leave and proceeded to the entrance of his family’s graveyard in the town centre.A beefed-up Police force with reinforcements brought in from Windhoek requested the 11 members of the Von Trotha family to stay put in their guesthouse for a full hour before escorting them to the cemetery.There, they walked with several Herero Chiefs and senior headmen to the ancestral graves, where the Chairman of the Von Trotha Family Association laid a wreath.A distant relative of his, General Lothar von Trotha, issued an extermination order against Herero people in October 1904 after their uprising against German colonial rule.Thousands of Hereros died of thirst when fleeing through the Omaheke to Botswana or where killed by pursuing German soldiers.At a farewell ceremony held in the nearby yard of the Lutheran Church on Saturday, Chief Alfons Maharero lashed out against Riruako, without mentioning his name once.He said “such an individual, who is also a Member of Parliament, should serve the entire nation and also the Government’s policy of national reconciliation instead of chasing people away from a place used by Herero speakers”.”I wonder if there safety and security in Namibia if there is one person destabilising the peace in our country,” Chief Maharero criticised.”Are there two different governments in Namibia?” he asked, hinting at Riruako, who is also president of the Nudo opposition party, but is not officially recognised as a traditional chief by Government.Wolf-Thilo von Trotha his speech underlined the reconciliatory nature of the family’s visit.”You offered us a warm welcome and reception wherever we went, which fosters a bond of mutual friendship and respect.We will continue the ongoing process of reconciliation and to deepen understanding and respect and we will remain in touch.”The group returns to Germany today.Maharero is also a member of the Red Flag Commando.Slogans like ‘The Commando is for all Hereros, not the Von Trothas’ and ‘We do not see why you are here and therefore we shall not welcome you in our fatherland’ were written on the posters.The group said they were acting on the instructions of Chief Kuaima Riruako, who calls himself Paramount Chief of all the Hereros but is finding himself sidelined by other Herero Chiefs.Riruako is accused of trying to hijack the Herero drive for dialogue with and reparation payments from the German government by making it his personal campaign.Two weeks ago, a few days before the arrival of the Von Trotha family, Riruako was quoted on NBC radio as threatening the family that something might happen to them during their stay in Namibia and that they should “bring their own security”.On Saturday morning, the leader of the protesters, Ismael Kamuhapita, told The Namibian he had written to the Okahandja Police command, saying that the planned event should not take place at the premises.Upon his arrival at the Herero Red Flag Commando site on Saturday morning and being confronted by the protesters, Chief Maharero immediately decided to leave and proceeded to the entrance of his family’s graveyard in the town centre.A beefed-up Police force with reinforcements brought in from Windhoek requested the 11 members of the Von Trotha family to stay put in their guesthouse for a full hour before escorting them to the cemetery.There, they walked with several Herero Chiefs and senior headmen to the ancestral graves, where the Chairman of the Von Trotha Family Association laid a wreath.A distant relative of his, General Lothar von Trotha, issued an extermination order against Herero people in October 1904 after their uprising against German colonial rule.Thousands of Hereros died of thirst when fleeing through the Omaheke to Botswana or where killed by pursuing German soldiers.At a farewell ceremony held in the nearby yard of the Lutheran Church on Saturday, Chief Alfons Maharero lashed out against Riruako, without mentioning his name once.He said “such an individual, who is also a Member of Parliament, should serve the entire nation and also the Government’s policy of national reconciliation instead of chasing people away from a place used by Herero speakers”.”I wonder if there safety and security in Namibia if there is one person destabilising the peace in our country,” Chief Maharero criticised.”Are there two different governments in Namibia?” he asked, hinting at Riruako, who is also president of the Nudo opposition party, but is not officially recognised as a traditional chief by Government.Wolf-Thilo von Trotha his speech underlined the reconciliatory nature of the family’s visit.”You offered us a warm welcome and reception wherever we went, which fosters a bond of mutual friendship and respect.We will continue the ongoing process of reconciliation and to deepen understanding and respect and we will remain in touch.”The group returns to Germany today.