By Pendapala Hangala
THIS historic statue of oppression and aggression against our people should have been removed 23 years ago. Why did it have to take this long to remove it? Why? In fact, it was supposed to have been one of the first agenda items of the Swapo-led government in 1990 to discard it without consultation from the face of the Namibian nation without fear nor favour to anyone. However, it is never too late to do justice. With that said, justice should however in this regard be served without delay.
The Germans really without mercy or remorse massacred a lot of our people during the colonial period – left, right and centre with a clear mandate and consciousness to steal our land and resources. They even up to this day refused to apologise for the many atrocities that they committed against our people. Just like they compensated the Jews, they should also compensate the Namibian surviving descendants of those atrocities for the massive suffering and destitution that they have caused as a result of the leadership and actions of such men like the man riding that horse statue.
This statue in its current posture overlooking the beautiful landscape of Windhoek clearly demonstrates a victory of destruction and conquer against the local inhabitants by the German imperial forces during the Herero and Nama wars of 1904-1907. For all intents and purposes, it should be known that this particular statue was erected in 1912 and should now find its way back to Germany.
A 100 plus years of oppression and aggression is no joke and no one especially the German descedants both in Namibia and elsewhere should oppose the removal of this nasty and disgraceful historic symbol from the face of Namibia. A lot of Namibians lost their loved ones and their land as a result of the onslaught on them by the leadership and action of such symbolic individuals.
There is simply no glory to have this nasty piece of history among us. The Namibian President should carry through on his speech as was delivered during the 2013 August 26 Heroes celebration at Omugulugwombashe in the Omusati region to have this terrible reminder of this historic atrocity on a one way ticket to Germany ASAP. I’m sure they will appreciate it more in Germany than here in Namibia.
I hereby also want to register my support to Job Amupanda and Dr Tjiriange and many others who have stood up bravely to reinforce the call of our President to have this statue of our oppressors removed from the face of the Namibian nation to the dustbin of history and never again to resurface in our midst. I especially applaud the rationale propagated by Dr Tjiriange on the perceived and misled perception that the removal of the Reiterdenkmal will distort history. One of his main questions was if the Germans did love Hitler so much during his reign, how come there is no statute of him anywhere in Germany and why should they want an independent nation such as Namibia to keep his associates such as the Reiterdenkmal. Why?
The German government should also not attempt to mix up economic and technical assistance to Namibia as a result of our desires to remove the statue. In all fairness, this is a step that is in line with our sovereign right to take our own decisions without fear nor favour to anyone. In fact, our President has clearly stated that they are most welcome to receive it.
Events of late of whites-only bars, mistreatment of blacks on farms and elsewhere especially in regard to the shoot to kill mentality with disregard of human life and rights is a clear violation of the Namibian constitution and the policy of national reconciliation. Further abuse of this nature by the minority racist whites might lead to retaliation. Disrespectful and unappreciating whites especially stubborn Germans and Afrikaners should remember that black Namibians are a peaceful people but if push comes to shove will react accordingly. Hence, Land of the Brave.
In conclusion, the Namibian Government should forge ahead without fear nor favour to any nation or individual to remove the Reiterdenkmal and any other negative historic symbols/statues which have caused tremendous harm and damage to society as we historically know it.
• Pendapala Hangala is a Swapo youth activist and this article is written his personal capacity towards the youth discourse, development and empowerment. He can be reached at hangalap@yahoo.com