Govt procures five farms to repatriate genocide expats in Botswana

By Kaipaherue Kandjii

NAMIBIA has set plans to repatriate approximately 180 descendants of the victims of the 1904/08 Nama/OvaHerero genocide from its neighbouring countries, mainly Botswana.

The group, which consists of women, men and children, were initially expected to arrive in Namibia on March 31 in the Gam village, on the periphery of the Otjozondjupa region, as part of the resolution by Cabinet.

In addition, according to a member of the organizing committee, James Uerikua, who also serves as governor of the Otjozondjupa region, a plot measuring 21,5 hectares has also been set aside at the village as a reception centre for the expatriates.

Uerikua informed Confidente in a telephonic interview that although the “relocation” is cast in stone under a bilateral agreement between Namibia and Botswana – the arrival day has been set as 27th July.

“The relocation was facilitated through a request by the community [itself from Botswana] in 2013 through [former high commissioner of Namibia to Botswana] Mbapeua Muvangua, and subsequently, an inter-ministerial committee was set up after the resolution by Cabinet to kickstart the process. So, as we speak, I am on-site [in Gam village] where we anticipate receiving 118 adults who have renounced their [Batswana] citizenship and 64 dependants based on the recent visitation statistics we gathered,” Uerikua indicated.

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