Namibia: Allegations by Rukoro on “secret agreement”

Advocate Rukoro alleged “that the Government of Germany and the Government of Namibia have signed a secret agreement that Germany would rather provide generous development aid instead of paying reparations to the Ovaherero and Nama people” 

WINDHOEK, Namibia, April 4, 2018,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Namibian dailies “SUN” and “Allgemeine Zeitung” reported in their editions of Tuesday, 3 April 2018, and Wednesday, 4 April 2018, respectively about remarks made by Advocate Vekuii Rukoro on the occasion of a so— called “Herero Reparations March” in Swakopmund.
According to those reports, Advocate Rukoro alleged “that the Government of Germany and the Government of Namibia have signed a secret agreement that Germany would rather provide generous development aid instead of paying reparations to the Ovaherero and Nama people.”

In light of this, the German Embassy Windhoek does state officially and informs the public as follows:

“Neither the current nor any previous German Government has ever signed such an alleged agreement. In fact, to this Embassy s knowledge, such an agreement does not exist.

The fact that this allegation is being repeated by Vekuii Rukoro and other members of the Herero community (like Esther Muinjangue in Berlin, end January 2018) does not turn a false into a true statement. It rather remains an allegation without any factual basis whatsoever.

This Embassy calls upon Advocate Rukoro to prove his allegations by presenting the alleged agreement to the public. As long as he remains unable to do so he and others should refrain from repeating this allegation.”

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany – Windhoek.