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THE Ovaherero and Ovambanderu traditional authorities have requested that 28 May be set aside as a national holiday to commemorate the lives of people who died during the 1904 to 1908 Ovaherero-Nama genocide.

This was announced at a press conference in Windhoek yesterday.

The call for the holiday comes from an agreement on the genocide, which was signed at Okandjoze last week.

Ovambanderu traditional councillor Aletha Nguvauva said the state must commit itself to the recognition of the genocide by making it part of the state’s instutions.

“Creating a genocide memorial and remembrance day, and we as leaders who met at Okandjoze last week agreed that day should be 28 May starting next year Namibia as a republic must own up to its responsibilities,” she said.

Some of the objectives and aims of the memorandum are to form a common front in the demand for the acknowledgement and recognition of the genocide, and to offer an apology and pay reparations for the genocide.

“And subsequently to redress land dispossession, the loss of lives, livestock, culture, dignity, cultural artefacts, and traumatic experiences,” the agreement reads.

“The Chiefs’ Assembly on Genocide and its technical arm shall be chaired on an alphabetical rotational basis as per the name of each traditional authority for a duration of six months, however, rotation could be handed over to the next traditional authority upon request,” it reads.

Kambazembi Royal Traditional Authority chief Sam Kambazembi says the reason why the San traditional authorities were not part of this event is because the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu chiefs have not cooperated before.

“So we had to get our house in order by coming together. After getting our house in order, we can get the San community,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Namibian and German governments in May last year entered into an agreement, according to which the German government acknowledged that the events between 1904 and 1908 was a genocide in today’s terms.

The German government also said its chancellor would tender an apology to Namibia as well as make a sum of 18 billion euros available for reconciliation and the reconstruction of the affected communities.

The Namibian government has, however, been criticised for agreeing to such terms with the German government, while the direct victims’ descendants, the Nama and Ovaherero people, say they should have been included in the negotiations from the onset.