Controversial video in Namibia of president’s conversation with German official: The release of an old video showing the Namibian president in a heated discussion with a German official has resurrected wounds from the colonial period.
Controversial video in Namibia of president’s conversation with German official
Republishing a video out of context.
In recent days, activists have released a video clip widely circulated on social media platforms showing Namibia’s President Haji Geingob giving a tough speech to Norbert Lammert, the former president of the German parliament, who was visiting the country ( in 2018) to talk about China’s growing influence in the country that Germany colonized, criticizing the Western view of Africa.
Controversial video in Namibia of president’s conversation with German official:
According to social media activists, the German official appearing in the video is the German ambassador to Namibia.
One said, “The German ambassador’s question to the president of Namibia expresses a kind of international trusteeship strategy practiced by most Western countries over the past 20 years against any country in the global south trying to move out of the boundaries of control and dependency relations or the pursuit of equal economic relations.”
The video clip went viral on global platforms, after it was published by the platform “In context” on the second day of March, and it has reached almost a quarter of a million views so far.
China’s presence in Namibia
In the aforementioned video, the German politician criticizes the Namibian president for the growing influence of China in his country, noting that “the number of Chinese in Namibia has become 4 times the population of Germany.”
The Namibian president responds, denouncing his speech, saying that his country “has made it easy for Germans and granted them visas to enter its lands, yet their view of Namibia has not changed, and the Namibian people, including the diplomatic mission, are still being harassed in Germany.”
The president then continued his speech, emphasizing his rejection of the Western view of the African continent, saying, “Do not underestimate our capacity in Africa.”
Germany’s apology for the colonial period
Germany officially apologized for its colonization in March of last year.
It should be noted that in May 2021, Germany admitted to a massacre in the first decade of the last century, in which about 80,000 Herero and Nama (in what is now Namibia) were killed.
“In view of Germany’s historical and moral responsibility, we will ask for forgiveness from Namibia and the descendants of the victims,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas at the time.
With the amnesty application, Germany presented an initiative worth $1.35 billion to be spent on reconstruction and development projects, health care and training programs over a 30-year period.