An advocacy group has launched a movement calling for what it describes as true and just reparations for the descendants of the Ovaherero and Nama genocide.

The Genocide Reparations Advocacy Forum launched the movement at a media briefing in Windhoek on Tuesday. 

The group says it is made up of descendants of affected communities, and its aim is to support broader reparations efforts.

It further says the process has moved away from the direct participation of descendants of the genocide.

Kavehorere Murangi is the founding member of the Genocide Reparations Advocacy Forum.

"As opposed to any bilateral bid pertaining to the genocide and subsequent apology and reparations, as is currently the case with the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama, to mention but two of the Namibian communities, that has been going on between the Namibian government and its German counterpart. Which is, by its output, the Joint Declaration of 2021, is essentially a selling out and betrayal of the cause and the sacrifices of our forebearers."

The forum is calling for the Joint Declaration process between Namibia and Germany to be paused and reviewed. 

It also says a new process should be established that directly includes descendant communities in decision-making.

The launch was linked to the memory of the late Paramount Chief Dr Kuaima Riruako, whose motion on genocide and reparations was unanimously adopted by the National in 2006. A moment of silence was observed in his honour.

The group says it will continue to mobilise descendants in Namibia and abroad and issue further statements on genocide remembrance activities. 

The Namibian government has previously stated that the negotiations with Germany on the Joint Declaration are the result of formal state-to-state discussions aimed at addressing the historical injustices of the 1904-1908 genocide.

Government officials have also maintained that the process is intended to include consultations with affected communities and that engagement with various descendant groups has taken place, although not all groups agree on the framework or outcomes.

The government has consistently said that the Joint Declaration represents a negotiated political agreement between Namibia and Germany.