Berlin honours 'path of reconciliation' taken by late Namibian leader

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the late president of Namibia as a formative statesman for his country after Hage Geingob's death on Sunday.

Against the backdrop of German colonial crimes a century ago in what is now Namibia, Steinmeier said that Geingob had taken a path of reconciliation with Germany "despite the heavy burden of our history."

Germany remains "committed to the path of reconciliation with Namibia and to coming to terms with the genocide perpetrated by Germany," Steinmeier said.

Geingob was Namibia's third president and had been in office since 2015. He was one of the leading political figures in the country for decades and played a decisive role in gaining Namibia's independence in 1990.

Under the presidency of Sam Nujoma, he served from 1990 to 2002 as the first prime minister of independent Namibia. Geingob campaigned for reconciliation and the reconstruction of the former German colony with a population of 2.6 million.

The German Empire was the colonial power in what was then called German South-West Africa from 1884 to 1915 and brutally put down rebellions.

The mass murders committed by German forces during the Herero Wars between 1904 to 1908 are now considered the first genocide of the 20th century. Historians estimate that 65,000 out of 80,000 Herero and at least 10,000 out of 20,000 Nama were killed during that time.

"Namibia has lost a great and influential statesman," Steinmeier wrote in a letter of condolence to Geingob's widow.

He recalled Geingob's decades-long struggle for "the liberation of Namibia from the yoke of apartheid."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed his condolences and stated that Germany was losing "a partner who was committed to the process of coming to terms with Germany's colonial history with great openness."

"Just three months ago, we spoke on the phone about the progress of the reconciliation process and he was full of hope about the successful conclusion of the Joint Declaration," Stenmeier said.

In 2021, Germany recognized the crimes as genocide and the two governments have long been negotiating a proposed reconciliation agreement.

However, the reconciliation agreement and Germany's planned payments of €1.1 billion ($1.1 billion) for development projects in Namibia are currently on hold.

Berlin refuses to negotiate directly with the descendants of the victims of the time about personal compensation. Instead is negotiating with the Namibian government, reasoning that it represents the whole of Namibia under international law.

The aid money is slated for development projects in the Herero and Nama territories.

Other leaders paid tribute to Geingob, who died in the early hours of Sunday morning at the age of 82. He had been treated in hospital for cancer.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said Namibia had lost an "extraordinary leader" "President Geingob was a towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid," he said in a statement.

Referring to Namibia's support during the South African freedom struggle against the white minority government there, he added that Geingob was "also greatly influential in the solidarity that the people of Namibia extended to the people of South Africa so that we could be free today."

South Africa is grateful to Geingob and saddened by his death, Ramaphosa added.