The German government has admitted responsibility and apologized to the Namibian government for the genocide of tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908 during the colonialization era.

In a joint statement, the German and Namibian governments announced details of the deal they reached over the genocide that happened at the beginning of the 20th Century.

It includes a commitment of €1.1bn development aid with no mention of direct reparations to descendants of the victims but that the development projects will benefit the “descendants of the particularly affected communities, in line with their identified needs” and will be implemented in consultation with them.

German colonisers killed 80% of the Ovaherero and over 40% of the Nama seizing their land and livestock.

The German-Namibian statement says: ‘’Germany apologises and bows before the descendants of the victims. Today, more than 100 years later, Germany asks for forgiveness for the sins of their forefathers. It is not possible to undo what has been done’’.

The statement clearly draws a line under the idea of reparations saying that “both governments share the understanding that these amounts mentioned above settle all financial aspects of the issues relating to the past”.