The Unfinished Business of Justice: President Nandi-Ndaitwah and the Future of the Joint Declaration

It has been more than 100 days since president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah assumed office as Namibia’s first female head of state.

Her early tenure has been marked by decisive and commendable reforms.

These include reducing ministerial portfolios, a Cabinet that recognises the nation’s diverse demographic make-up and setting new international standards in gender equality.

These moves signal a welcome departure from past administrations.

WHAT ABOUT THE DECLARATION?

Yet, amid these bold changes, one issue remains conspicuously unaddressed: the Joint Declaration (JD) on genocide and reparations between Namibia and Germany.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah helped engineer the draft document as minister of international relations under the leadership of presidents Hage Geingob and Nangolo Mbumba.

But as president she has not disclosed how her administration will handle the pending matter. 
Let’s recall: The draft JD was initialed in May 2021 by the two special envoys.

It has been firmly rejected by the very communities it claims to compensate.

Debates in Namibia’s National Assembly during the second half of 2021 clearly dismissed it.

After it was initially rejected, the late president Geingob withheld the agreement from renewed parliamentary consideration.

Perhaps he calculated that the political fallout outweighed its diplomatic value.

Instead, bilateral negotiations have continued behind closed doors since then.

In several subsequent meetings until December 2024, minor amendments were made to include the diaspora in the agreed-upon “reconstruction and development support programme”.

It amounts to 1.05 billion euros “for the benefit of the particularly affected communities”.

In late December 2024, the Cabinet announced that the revised JD would be accepted and that the affected communities would be briefed in regional consultations.

However, their main agencies immediately rejected the endorsement, stressing, as before, that “anything without us is against us”. 

WHAT DOES IT SAY?

As the current version of the draft JD has not been publicly disclosed in full, it seems necessary to share some of its controversial essentials. In articles 8 to 10 it states:

“Overall, tens of thousands of men, women and children were subjected to the orders and associated German policies.

They were shot, hanged, burned, starved, experimented on, enslaved, worked to death, abused, raped and dispossessed, not only of their land, property and livestock, but also of their rights and dignity.” (8)

“As a consequence, a substantial number of Ovaherero and Nama communities were exterminated through the actions of the German state. A large number of the Damara and San communities were also exterminated.” (9)

“The German government acknowledges that the abominable atrocities committed during periods of the colonial war culminated in events that, from today’s perspective, would be called genocide.”  (10)
Among others, articles 13 and 14 declare:
“Germany apologises and bows before the descendants of the victims. Today, more than 100 years later, Germany asks for forgiveness for the sins of their forefathers.” (13)

“The Namibian government and people accept Germany’s apology and believe that it paves the way to a lasting mutual understanding and the consolidation of a special relationship between the two nations … This shall close the painful chapter of the past and mark a new dawn in the relationship between our two countries and peoples.” (14)

And article 21 stresses in no uncertain terms: “Both governments share the understanding that these amounts mentioned above settle all financial aspects of the issues relating to the past addressed in this Joint Declaration.”

TO SIGN OR NOT TO SIGN?

President Nandi-Ndaitwah now faces a critical choice.

Should she continue down the path, she risks deepening the political and emotional rift between the government and the affected communities.

A number of the relevant agencies showed their continued rejection by not attending Namibia’s first national holiday in remembrance of the genocide on 28 May.

Instead, they arranged their own commemorative events.

Endorsing the JD without further significant revision may also trigger internal dissent within Swapo, particularly among members of parliament who are sympathetic to the affected communities.

The question remains: Has the president consolidated enough political power within her party to carry the agreement through, and should she even wish to do so?

Signing the JD in its current form amounts to closing the door on Germany’s full accountability for genocidal colonial-era crimes in Namibia once and for all.

The agreement falls short on reparations, fails to use the legal term “genocide” in binding international language, and sidesteps the principle of direct negotiations with affected communities.

Such a course of action would not only frustrate longstanding demands for justice but could also cast a shadow over president Nandi-Ndaitwah’s legacy as a leader committed to restorative justice, national healing and democratic legitimacy.

The risk is not only political. It is moral.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Namibia cannot afford to build its future on selective engagement with the colonial past in the present.

If president Nandi-Ndaitwah is to uphold the spirit of justice, then she must confront the shortcomings in the JD openly and honestly.

That includes returning to the table. This time with the rightful participation of the communities affected by and suffering from the consequences of the genocide.

It left a festering wound in terms of perpetuating structural, socio-economic inequalities and a collective trauma. 
What remains as unfinished business is crafting a new path forward, one rooted in truth, justice and the full dignity of all Namibians.

• Henning Melber came to Namibia as a son of German immigrants and joined Swapo in 1974. He is a resident associate at the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, and extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State.
• Jephta Nguherimo is a Namibian poet, transnational activist and former labour negotiator advocating for genocide justice.
• He authored ‘Unburied–Unmarked’ and appeared in Al Jazeera’s ‘Namibia: The Price of Genocide’. His work centres on memory, resistance and restorative justice. He is a visiting fellow at the Centre for Transformation of Political Violence, Goethe University Frankfurt.

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