14 Jul 2022

Namibia has approved the repatriation of 75 Baherero and Ovanderu from Botswana.

 They have already received their approval documents and await facilitation of the repatriation process by Botswana’s  Department of Immigration and Citizenship including provision of transport to the border.

 The group is the first batch of over 900 people from Ngamiland and Ghanzi regions who have requested relocation to Namibia, their ancestral home.

 The issue dates back to 2013 when representatives of people desiring relocation, based mainly in Ngamiland and the Ghanzi District, approached the Botswana government requesting permission to return to Namibia.

 Expressing elation at the development, chairperson of the repatriation committee in Botswana, Mr Justice Muinjo said in an interview that they had  been waiting for Namibia to facilitate the exercise since Botswana had long given the go-ahead.

   “Despite the delay, we are happy that finally both governments have completed the registration and documentation for the repatriation exercise and we are going back to our ancestral land,” he said.

  Mr Muinjo urged those remaining to be patient as they could not all be relocated in one fell swoop.

 He assured them that their documents would be finalised adding that the Namibian government had already secured a piece of land some 100km into the western part of the country to accommodate them.

  Mr Muinjo said those coming from Ngamiland, a Foot and Mouth red zone, would not be able to relocate with their livestock.

  Since Ghanzi was a green zone, those relocating from there  would be allowed to bring along their livestock provided the right procedures were followed, he said.

  From the time the concerned communities expressed the desire to relocate,  several inter-governmental consultation meetings have been held to work out the modalities of repatriation.

  In 2018, a delegation from Namibia visited Ngamiland and informed the leadership that the Namibian government had resolved to implement the repatriation exercise over a period of three years.

    If successful, the exercise would be the second mass departure of people of Namibian origin from Botswana  following the return of Baherero tribe members to Namibia in 1993. BOPA