By Kaundjire Humbu
OvaHerero paramount chief Hoze Riruako has condemned German lawmaker Alexander Wolf over his remarks questioning the
characterisation of the 1904–1908 atrocities against the OvaHerero and Nama people as genocide, describing them as an insult to the descendants of the victims.
Riruako said Wolf ’s comments in the German Parliament (The Bundestag) on 14 October, were “absurd, irresponsible, insensitive and provocative”. He argues that the remarks came at a time when Namibia and Germany should be working towards reconciliation and resolving the historical injustices arising from German colonial rule.
In a strongly worded response, Riruako accused the German politician of reopening historical wounds and undermining efforts to secure justice, including reparations, restoration and an official apology to the affected communities.
“Wolf did not only insult our people but, for a lack of a better word, spews venom on still raw wounds of the OvaHerero and Nama people,” Riruako said.
Wolf, who is the leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), made the remarks during a debate, in which opposition parties called for fuller recognition of Germany’s historical responsibility and reparations for the genocide.
He questioned the characterisation of the atrocities as genocide, criticised calls for reparations and argued that Germany should focus on future relations with Namibia rather than what he portrayed as politically driven demands linked to its colonial past.
Riruako retorted saying such arguments amounted to a denial of the suffering endured by the Ovaherero and Nama during the war of 1904–1908.
He rejected Wolf ’s reference to the “so-called extermination order”, saying it undermined the historical record of the German colonial military campaign and the systematic destruction of the affected communities.
The paramount chief also criticised what he described as an attempt to compare the deaths of German civilians during the uprising with the mass killings and persecution of the OvaHerero and Nama.
While acknowledging that the deaths of German civilians were unfortunate, Riruako said they could not be used to equate the experiences of the two sides or diminish the scale of the atrocities committed by German colonial forces.
He fruther argued that the German imperial army possessed military resources far superior to those available to the OvaHerero and Nama, making claims that the conflict was an equal war a distortion of historical circumstances.
Riruako further rejected Wolf’s suggestion that the deaths of OvaHerero during their retreat into the arid interior could be understood as a strategic withdrawal.
He maintained that the campaign under German military commander Lothar von Trotha involved forcing OvaHerero communities into inhospitable territory, where many died from thirst and starvation. He also alleged that German troops poisoned water sources, further contributing to the suffering.
He dismissed Wolf ’s argument that the classification of the atrocities as genocide emerged later through political and academic debate, insisting that the affected communities did not need German scholars to identify what had happened to their ancestors.
He said records including German military and colonial administration documents, von Trotha’s extermination order, concentration camp records, human remains and survivors’ accounts, are contradicting Wolf ‘s assertions.
Riruako said the OvaHerero and Nama had their own understanding of the destruction inflicted on their communities and rejected suggestions that the genocide narrative was a recent political invention.
He also took issue with Wolf ’s suggestion that recognition of the genocide could threaten Namibia’s ethnic unity.
According to Riruako, invoking Namibia’s ethnic diversity to challenge the descendants’ demands for justice was irresponsible and risked shifting attention away from Germany’s colonial record.
“Since when did demanding justice become a threat to peace?” he asked.
He said Germany’s colonial crimes were not the responsibility of Namibia’s other communities and that acknowledging the genocide should not be confused with assigning collective guilt to present- day Germans.
“Reconciliation cannot be built on denial, and national unity must never become an excuse to silence victims.”
He warned that Namibia’s sovereignty and the sensitivities of its different communities should not be used by a foreign politician to undermine the legitimate demands of genocide descendants.
“The OvaHerero will not be intimidated, our history will not be rewritten, and our demand for justice will not be sacrificed to accommodate those uncomfortable with accountability,” he said.
Riruako further pointed to Germany’s 2021 announcement that it would recognise the atrocities as genocide and seek forgiveness from
the descendants of the victims, questioning why Wolf would challenge the classification when the German government had already acknowledged it.
He called on the lawmaker to familiarise himself with the progress made in discussions between the two governments and the affected communities instead of advancing what he described as disinformation and delaying tactics.
Wolf ‘s remarks also come amid renewed debate in Germany over the country’s colonial history in Namibia.
On 14 October, the Bundestag referred proposals submitted by Die Linke and the Greens concerning genocide recognition, historical responsibility, reparations and an official apology to its foreign affairs committee for further consideration.
The proposals have reopened debate over how Germany should address the consequences of the 1904–1908 atrocities, including the demands of descendants for direct reparations and meaningful recognition of the suffering inflicted on their ancestors.
