Swapo politician and former parliamentarian Kazenambo Kazenambo says German-speaking Namibians who are scared to lose large tracts of agricultural land must rally behind descendants of the genocide communities.
Kazenambo made these remarks during an interview on Tuesday in response to fears by German-speaking Namibians who believe targeting their farms is misplaced.
Through the Forum of German-speaking Namibians on Tuesday, they branded the reactions by affected communities “unacceptable and not helpful,” while acknowledging the dissatisfaction expressed by affected communities over the manner in which the genocide deal is being handled.
“Some of those reactions and in particular the tonality used, are neither acceptable nor helpful. We take particular exception to open as well as veiled threats against landowners and German-speaking Namibians. Those could harm future efforts to reconcile and to finding a peaceful way forward,” its chairperson Harald Hecht said in a statement on Monday.
According to the forum, the discussions were conducted in good faith and in accordance with the letter and spirit of the motion as passed by the National Assembly 16 years ago.
He added that the affected communities fully participated in the exercise.
“We therefore strongly appeal to all Namibian citizens to desist from exploiting the ongoing process to incite violence, thereby destabilising our nation,” he cautioned.
But Kazenambo said the repossession of ancestral land occupied by descendants of the German colonialists is imminent unless the German and Namibian governments start treating the genocide issue with the sensitivity it warrants.
The politician further rubbished claims that he is advocating for a civil war, saying: “I am not the problem neither am I the cause. The problem is the recklessness by which the two governments are handling the matter in a political expediency manner.”
Kazenombo said innocent and patriotic German-speaking Namibians, Hereros and Nama who might be caught in the crossfire might fall victim to a situation that can be averted.
He said: “The role they can play is to get out of their comfort zones… where have they been? This government has been protecting the interests of Germans who are here at the expense of their own citizens, at the expense of the Hereros and Namas who live in overcrowded and underdeveloped rural areas, who are suffering economic injustice.”
Source: Namibia Press Agency
