On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Namibia’s independence (March 21), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) would like to draw attention to the country’s ongoing dependence on foreign actors, demanding Germany to show more commitment to removing colonial structures.

“Although Namibia is formally independent, foreign actors – including Germany – still have considerable influence on the use of Namibian resources. Under the pretext of climate protection and the promotion of renewable energies, such as the production of green hydrogen, companies are claiming large areas. One example for this is the Hyphen Project in the south of Namibia, which aims at large-scale production of hydrogen – with German involvement – on land that was forcibly taken from the Nama during the German colonial period and declared a restricted diamond mining area,” stated Laura Mahler, STP expert on sub-Saharan Africa.

According to Mahler, the renewed German investment in this area will likely consolidate new forms of colonial dependencies. In order to decarbonize their own economies, the countries of the Global North are claiming large areas of land in the Global South, without considering the rights and needs of the affected local communities.

The descendants of the few surviving Ovaherero and Nama whose livelihoods were destroyed during the German genocide from 1904 to 1908 are still waiting for the return of their land. Considerable parts of the fertile farmland are still owned by white landowners, while the descendants of the victims are living in precarious conditions. Despite repeated demands for justice and the return of the land, the Namibian government has largely remained inactive. “Due to the unresolved land issue, economic and social inequality among the Namibian people persists, obstructing the realization of true independence for the people,” Mahler explained.

“In order to achieve true and complete independence for Namibia, Germany should – as the former colonial power – contribute by acknowledging existing injustices and taking measures to get rid of recurring dependencies and persisting colonial structures. This would include acknowledging the genocide, paying reparations, and giving back all artifacts and human remains that are still kept in German institutions,” Mahler demanded. “Namibia’s struggle against the apartheid regime is often used as the main narrative of the Day of Independence – but the unresolved issues resulting from the German colonial rule are still shaping Namibia’s social and political conditions, until today.”