19 Mar 2019

Ovaherero Red flag hoisting has a symbolic attachment to the Ovaherero of Botswana, Namibia and diaspora, who are proud survivors of the saddest chapters in Southern African history, assistant Minister of Basic Education Mr Thato Kwerepe has said.

Officiating at Otjiserandu Tjo Ngejama Red flag hoisting at Ghanzi on March 16, Mr Kwerepe said the pride and joy felt in celebrating Otjiherero heritage in Botswana and neighboring region is a recognition of the underlying suffering and sacrifice, which sadly now lies at the core of modern Ovaherero identity.

He said the remembrance day is also an opportunity to commemorate the resurrection of the Ovaherero in the aftermath of a terrible period of death and destruction, having been the victims between of the 20th century’s first genocide between 1904 and 1908.

Measured in terms of demographic loss, he said the final 1904-08 Ovaherero and the Nama uprising against the Germans occupation is the most horrific Africa’s many anti-colonial struggles, and its impact can be surmised by the over 70 per cent Ovaherero and not less than half of the Nama lives claimed by the conflict at the time.

Mr Kwerepe said celebrating Ovaherero heritage is a powerful statement to the community enduring strength in overcoming past adversity, while meeting their contemporary challenges in the Diaspora, as well as in Namibia.

He added that no community suffered more during the last century from racist pseudo-sciences and racial imperialism than the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu, Nama and Damara for their stouter and more sustained resistance to forces of oppression, - a history of extreme suffering and extraordinary heroism that it is too important to forget.

“For those unfamiliar with that, this history can rightfully be described as the Kakahari Holocaust,” where between 1893-1908, Ovaherero and other indigenous communities in Namibia, took arms in resistance to the German policy of depopulating large areas for European settlement.

He said no one will fully appreciate the roots of Nazi horrors, in terms of emergence of master race ideology as well as industrial genocide, without knowing the story of the brutal German occupation of Namibia and its cross border legacy.

He said though genocide was instigated by German state of Kaiser Wilhelm II, they are not alone in the crime, citing that Germans awarded the ‘South West African commemorative medal with the bars Kalahari 1907 and 1908’ to the members of the British forces who assisted them.

The most devastating phase of the Kakahari holocaust, he said began January 1904 when fighting broke out between Germans and Ovaherero at Okahandja.

Mr Kwerepe said following the clash, the once peaceful Ovaherero paramount, King Sumuel Katjiikumbua ka Maherero reluctantly made a fateful decision to raise the banner of wider resistance by inviting the leaders of Nama, Rehobathers, Ovambo and Ovambandero to join a common struggle against the German occupation.

Mr Kwerepe detailed how Botswna and other states helped Ovaherero during this difficult period, saying that countless victims of aggression took refuge in Botswana, the story of the Ovaherero which is now part of Botswana’s, as well as Namibia’s - unity in diversity.

“It is difficult to let go the people who have been living with you for many years although, but at least we will know where they are going,” he stated. His statement was in respect to some Ovaherero plans to retrace their foot prints to Namibia.

Mr Kwerepe donated P1 000 to Otjiserandu Tjo Ngejama and acquired its membership.

Chief of the Baherero Advocate Vekuii Rukoro said Red flag is part of their identity from time immemorial, an idea initially started as a way to identify one another during battles using a red bird feather.

He said as a result of tensions among the Ovaherero clan and Sammuel Maherero royal family, with the family claiming rights over it, they decided to rebrand the flag to incorporate all the people, as they had replaced the Kudu that was on the red flag with the lion, with MPHKK logo on it, to recognise Hosea Kutako (Mukuru Punuena ete Hosea Katjikarurume Katako).

He underscored that Sammuel Maherero had a significant share on the liberation struggle, but they choose Hosea Kutako as a unifier of the nation, and choose to celebrate the day he passed on (July 18) as opposed to the date Sammuel Maherero bones were reburied in Namibia after being exhumed from Botswana (August 26), which he said also fueled tensions.

Advocate Rukoro said the blue Ovambanderu flag will be hoisted alongside the rebranded red flag saying that they have joined forces because they suffered similar injustice. He was disappointed how US court recently handled their genocide claims against Germans and  said they would appeal the case, and not rest until justice prevailed.

He condemned German and Namibian governments negotiations that sought to resolve the issues, saying it was a sham parade and added that without Ovaherero and Nama communities on the negotiation table the outcome would not be genuine.

He said the Germans were trying to escape compensating the survivors of German genocide.

“Germans should compensate Hereros, not only in Namibia but everywhere where Hereros reside.”

The chairperson of Ovaherero Genocide Foundation, Ms Esther Muinjangue said their fight is against injustices suffered by those who were killed, mothers and their daughters who were raped.

In closing, Ghanzi North MP, Mr Noah Salakae said through the celebrations, Herero people were saying, ‘indeed we do have a past, no matter how barbaric it may appear, that we are proud of and we want the world to know. Indeed, there is no dispute about the fact that we are a diverse society and have consistently urged each other to use this diversity as a strength to unite our people than divide them.”
 

“As we gather here to celebrate Herero culture, appreciate it, understand where they are coming from, let us not forget to preserve and conserve the wisdom for prosperity.

As we dance, sing, eat and drink from the same source, we are forging a new world identity which knows no discrimination on the grounds of tribal grouping. Ends