Namibia’s Campaign to Repatriate Herero and Nama Remains

Wɔatwerɛ nsɛm wei wɔ Asante Twi mu

Namibiafoɔ pere a wɔperee sɛ wɔbɛgye Herero ne Nama nnompe a wɔn hoo kaa wɔ Germanfoɔ nnipakum wɔ wɔn nnisoɔ wɔ afe (1904 - 1908) yɛ ɔman no mmɔdemmɔ a ɔde rebɛsiesie abakɔsɛm mu ntɛnkyea, ahwehwɛ atɛntenenee a ɛde nsiesie bɛba, na ama wɔn ho atɔ wɔn wɔ nniso a edii wɔn so akyi no mu. Wɔde Hererofo ne Namafoɔ mpaterɛn ne nipadua afa hodoɔ mpempem pii kɔɔ Germany kɔyɛɛ nnipa mu nyansapɛ ne nnipa ho adesua, a emu pii da so wɔ tete nneɛma akorae ne sukuupɔn ahorow mu. Namibia atubrafo a wɔresan akɔ wɔn kurom no kyerɛ sɛ wɔwɔ abrabɔ pa ne honhom fam ahiade a ɛne sɛ wobedi awufoɔ ni, na ɛyɛ amanyɔsɛm mu asɛm a ɛkyerɛ sɛ ɛsɛ sɛ Germany susuw n'ahemman a wɔde dii kan no ho^[1].

Abakɔsɛm: Hererofoɔ ne Namafoɔ nnipakum

Wɔ afe 1904 ne 1908 ntam no, Germany yɛɛ nea wɔgye tom kɛseɛ sɛ afeha a ɛto so 20 no mu awudie a edi kan wɔ German South West Africa (seesei Namibia) a na ɛyɛ n'ahenkuro no mu. Berɛ a Hererofoɔ ne Namafoɔ sɔre tiaa Germanfoɔ nniso no, Ɔsahene Lothar von Trotha hyɛɛ mmara sɛ wɔnkum Hererofo bɛboro ɔha mu nkyem 80 ne Namafoɔ ɔha mu nkyem 50^[2].

Wɔde wɔn a wonyaa wɔn ti didii mu no kɔɔ nneduaban ahorow te sɛ Shark Island, baabi a nnipa pii wuwui esiane yare, ayayade, ne adwumaden nti no. Wɔ saa bere yi mu no, Germanfoɔ twaa nnipa a wɔkunkum wɔn no ti, na wɔde wɔn ti, wɔn ti ne wɔn nnompe kɔɔ Germany kɔyɛɛ nyansahu mu nhwehwɛmu, titire wɔ suapɔn ahodoɔ te sɛ Berlin's Charité Ayaresabea, Freiburg Suapɔn, ne Jena Suapɔn mu^[3]. Wɔde saa nnompe yi yɛɛ nnipa mu nyiyim ho nhwehwɛmu de "daa" adi sɛ aborɔfoɔ sen afoforɔ.

Namibiafoɔ ntoa wɔbɔ faa nnoɔma a wɔde bɛsan aba wɔn man mu

Aban ne Ɔmanfoɔ no gyinasie

Namibia aban, ne Herero ne Nama amammerɛ mu akannifoɔ yɛɛ adwuma, na wɔhyɛɛ ase srɛe sɛ wɔnsan mfa saa nnompe yi mma wɔn wɔ afe 2000 mfitiaseɛ. Saa nhyehyɛe yi nyaa ahoɔden wɔ afe 2010 mfe no mu, berɛ a amanaman ntam akyitaafoɔ ne nhyɛsoɔ a ɛkɔɔ so wɔ Germany so sɛ wɔnhwɛ wɔn nnommumfa mu nsɛmmɔnedie so no.

Namibia Nwomasua, Adwinne ne Amammerɛ Dwumadibea ne Namibia Ɔman Nkaedum no ne Germany aban, agyapade ahyehyɛde ahorow, ne amanaman ntam nnipakuw a wɔhwɛ nnipa ahofadi so ayɛ nhyehyɛe sɛ wɔbɛhwehwɛ ne nkae no. Saa ɔsatu yi nyɛ honam fam nnompe a wɔbɛsan ama no no ho asɛm kɛkɛ na mmom ɛyɛ frɛ a wɔbɛfrɛ no sɛ ɔman atirimɔdensɛm, kyɛwpa, ne nsiesie^[4].

Nhyehyeɛ titire a wɔyɛ faa ho

2011: Germany san de nnipa ti kɔnkora 20 a wɔadi kan a ɛfiri Charité Ayaresabea a ɛwɔ Berlin no kɔmaa Namibia. Ɔman no dii afahyɛ bi wɔ Windhoek, na Herero ne Nama ananmusifoɔ kyerɛe sɛ wɔn adwene nhyia wɔ nhyehyɛeɛ no ho, na wɔkaa sɛ wɔnte wɔn kuromfo no ase^[5].
2014: Wɔsan de mpokyerɛ ne nnompe foforɔ 35 fii Friedrich Schiller Suapɔn a ɛwɔ Jena no bae, berɛ a wɔyɛɛ nhwehwɛmu a ɛkyerɛ sɛ wofi Namibia no^[6].
Afe 2018: Germany san de nnipa nnompe 27 a wɔn mu bi yɛ ti, nnompe, ne nipadua afa afoforɔ firii mmeae bi te sɛ Charité ne Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Namibia Ɔmanpanin Panin Nangolo Mbumba na odii ananmu gyee wɔn a wɔbaa hɔ no, na ɔsan sii nkae no so dua sɛ ɛyɛ adeyɛ a ɛho hia wɔ ne som mu, na ɔsan hwehwɛɛ sɛ wɔpa kyɛw na wɔtua ka no^[7].

Sɛ wɔresan akɔ wɔn kurom a, na wɔyɛ amanne ahorow ne ɔmanfo ayiyɛ. Nanso, nsɛm a esisii yi nso ama akasakasa a ɛda Namibia man no ne Herero/Nama amammerɛ mu atumfoɔ a wɔhwehwɛ sɛ wɔde wɔn ho bɛhyɛ mu tẽẽ na wɔatwe atirimɔdensɛm no aso.

Abrabɔ, honhom fam, ne amammerɛ ho mfasoɔ

Wɔ Herero ne Nama amammerɛ nyinaa mu no, nnipa nnompe a wɔsɛe no yɛ honhom fam bɔne a emu yɛ duru. Ɛsɛ sɛ wosie nananom wɔ nidi mu sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a wɔn ahonhom benya home na wɔne ateasefo atena asomdwoe mu. Saa nkae yi a ɛwɔ aman foforo so adan mu no kyerɛ sɛ amammerɛ mu basabasayɛ rekɔ so nnɛ.

Enti sɛ obi san kɔ ne kurom a, ɛkyerɛ sɛ ɔresan asiesie n'asetra, na wayɛ onipa foforo, na wanya ne amammerɛ mu ahofadi. Ɛma mmusua ne nnipa nya awerɛkyekye ma wɔn nananom a wɔn wu no nyɛ nea ɛnteɛ na mmom ɛyɛ nea ɛmfata^[8].

Mmara ne amanyɔsɛm ho nhyehyɛeɛ

Wiase nyinaa nipa kyɛfa nhyehyɛeɛ boa Namibia ɔsatu no:

UNESCO's 1970 Convention on the return of cultural property^[9]
Amanaman Nkabom Amanaman Nkabom Abakɔsɛm^[10]^[11]
Amanaman Nkabom Dwumadibea a Ɛhwɛ Amammerɛ Ho Nsɛm So Ho Nhyehyɛe

Afei nso, wɔabisa pii wɔ Germany sɛ wɔmfa mmara kwan so mmu nnipakuw no kumfo, te sɛ nea wɔyɛe wɔ Holocaust no ho no. Wɔ May 2021 mu no, wɔ mfe pii a wɔde yɛɛ nkɔmmɔ wiei akyi no, Germany gyee Herero ne Nama nneduaban no toom, na wɔhyɛɛ bɔ sɛ wɔde €1.1 billion bɛboa ama nkɔso wɔ mfe 30 mu. Nanso, wɔn a wɔkasa tia eyi no kyerɛ sɛ eyi yɛ asotwe a ɛnnyɛ tẽẽ, na wɔamma kwan amma tete atumfoɔ no ankɔ nkɔmmɔbɔ no mu^[4].

Ɔhaw ahodoɔ a ɛrekɔ so

Nhyehyɛeɛ a Ɛnteɛ: Wɔda so ara wɔ nkae pii a wɔnnya nhui wɔ Germany akorae hɔ.
Nea Ɛkyerɛ sɛ Obi Fi Baabi: Ebinom wɔ hɔ a, wɔn nsa nkaa krataa a ɛkyerɛ baabi a wofi, na ɛma wɔn a wɔresan akɔ wɔn kurom no ho yɛ den.
Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea a Ɛhwɛ Asɛnnibea So no so.
Nhyehyɛe ahorow a wɔsɔre tia: German tete nneɛma akorae ne suapɔn ahorow bi yɛ nyaa wɔ nnompe a wɔayi no ho esiane nyansahu anaa mmara mu nhyɛso ahorow nti.

Mmoano

Namibia ɔsatu a wɔde resan de Hererofo ne Namafo nnompe aba wɔn man mu no yɛ nhwɛso a emu yɛ den a ɛkyerɛ sɛ wɔsɔre tia amammerɛ a na ɛwɔ hɔ bere a na wɔdi kan no akyi, wɔbu atetesɛm atɛntrenee, na wɔsan nya wɔn amammerɛ so mfaso. Ɛwom sɛ wɔayɛ nneɛma bi a ɛho hia de, nanso adwuma no nwiei koraa. Nkatabo, nnompe, ne nneɛma a wɔayi no no nyinaa a wɔbɛsan de ama wɔn no nyɛ ade a wɔde bɛhyɛ wɔn nsa kɛkɛ. Ɛkyerɛ sɛ wɔbɛsan ama awufo anya wɔn nidi, na wɔahu sɛ wɔyɛ nneduafo, na wɔatumi anya mpata a mfaso wɔ so ne abakɔsɛm mu asɛdeɛ.

Mmeaeɛ a menyaa mmoa firiiɛ

↑ Tolulope Omotunde (2025-05-28), Namibia marks inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day with call for reparations - Afrik Digest (in American English), retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ Martine Prins (2000-03), "Jan-Bart Gewald, Herero Heroes. A Socio-Political History of the Herero of Namibia 1890–1923. Oxford (James Currey Ltd) 1999. x + 310 pp. £14,95 (paper). ISBN 0-85255-749-3.", Itinerario, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 134–137, doi:10.1017/s016511530000872x, ISSN 0165-1153, retrieved 2025-07-11 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
↑ Felix Mukwiza Ndahinda (2020-02-07), "Debating and Litigating Post-Genocide Reparations in the Rwandan Context", Reparations for Victims of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, Brill | Nijhoff, pp. 629–655, ISBN 978-90-04-37719-6, retrieved 2025-07-11
1 2 "The Legacy of the Herero Genocide on Namibia Today", Colonial Genocide and Reparations Claims in the 21st Century, pp. 25–62, 2008, doi:10.5040/9798400628559.ch-001, retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ BBC News – Africa ✓, retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ Bénédicte Savoy (2021), Afrikas Kampf um seine Kunst, Verlag C.H.BECK oHG, ISBN 978-3-406-76698-5, retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ Vilho Amukwaya Shigwedha (2017-01-05), "The return of Herero and Nama bones from Germany: the victims' struggle for recognition and recurring genocide memories in Namibia", Human Remains in Society, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-1-5261-0738-1, retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ Petrus Angula Mbenzi (2015-07-13), "Revolutionary Songs as a Response to Colonialism in Namibia", Re-Viewing Resistance in Namibian History, University of Namibia Press, pp. 71–88, retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ UNESCO (2007-01-01), "Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property Paris, 14 November 1970", Standard-Setting at UNESCO, Brill | Nijhoff, pp. 103–111, ISBN 978-90-04-16454-3, retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), retrieved 2025-07-11
↑ "The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples", Reflections on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Hart Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84113-878-7, retrieved 2025-07-11

[1] Tolulope Omotunde (2025-05-28), Namibia marks inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day with call for reparations - Afrik Digest (in American English), retrieved 2025-07-11

[2] Martine Prins (2000-03), "Jan-Bart Gewald, Herero Heroes. A Socio-Political History of the Herero of Namibia 1890–1923. Oxford (James Currey Ltd) 1999. x + 310 pp. £14,95 (paper). ISBN 0-85255-749-3.", Itinerario, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 134–137, doi:10.1017/s016511530000872x, ISSN 0165-1153, retrieved 2025-07-11 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[3] Felix Mukwiza Ndahinda (2020-02-07), "Debating and Litigating Post-Genocide Reparations in the Rwandan Context", Reparations for Victims of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, Brill | Nijhoff, pp. 629–655, ISBN 978-90-04-37719-6, retrieved 2025-07-11

[:0-4] 1 2 "The Legacy of the Herero Genocide on Namibia Today", Colonial Genocide and Reparations Claims in the 21st Century, pp. 25–62, 2008, doi:10.5040/9798400628559.ch-001, retrieved 2025-07-11

[5] BBC News – Africa ✓, retrieved 2025-07-11

[6] Bénédicte Savoy (2021), Afrikas Kampf um seine Kunst, Verlag C.H.BECK oHG, ISBN 978-3-406-76698-5, retrieved 2025-07-11

[7] Vilho Amukwaya Shigwedha (2017-01-05), "The return of Herero and Nama bones from Germany: the victims' struggle for recognition and recurring genocide memories in Namibia", Human Remains in Society, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-1-5261-0738-1, retrieved 2025-07-11

[8] Petrus Angula Mbenzi (2015-07-13), "Revolutionary Songs as a Response to Colonialism in Namibia", Re-Viewing Resistance in Namibian History, University of Namibia Press, pp. 71–88, retrieved 2025-07-11

[9] UNESCO (2007-01-01), "Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property Paris, 14 November 1970", Standard-Setting at UNESCO, Brill | Nijhoff, pp. 103–111, ISBN 978-90-04-16454-3, retrieved 2025-07-11

[10] United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), retrieved 2025-07-11

[11] "The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples", Reflections on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Hart Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84113-878-7, retrieved 2025-07-11

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