Controversial statue of German colonial officer in Namibia’s capital Windhoek eliminated

A controversial statue of German officer Curt von Francois erected 57 years in the past to have fun him because the founding father of Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, has been eliminated. The very fact he truly based town when Namibia was a German colony is challenged.

A statue of German colonial officer Curt von Francois in Namibia’s capital metropolis Windhoek has been eliminated on November 23.

The statue was controversial as a result of it was an indication of colonization and the very fact von Francois truly based Windhoek in 1890 is challenged.

The statue was erected in 1965 to have fun the seventy fifth anniversary of town’s founding and was positioned on a pedestal in entrance of Windhoek’s metropolis buildings. In 1965, Namibia was beneath the management of South Africa, then led by a white-minority regime. Namibia turned impartial in 1990.

Germany colonized Namibia from 1884 to 1915 and von Francois was governor of what was known as German South West Africa on the time. Von Francois is credited with having based Windhoek however historians and activists reject he was the actual founder because the native inhabitants used to dwell within the space earlier than the Germans arrived.

A petition launched two years in the past which gathered 1 700 signatures in a couple of weeks thought of the rightful founder was Jonker Afrikaner, the Nama ethnic chief who first established a settlement within the space round 1840. It identified that the German officer had solely constructed Windhoek’s Previous Fort as a navy operation in 1890.

The statue was additionally controversial as a result of von Francois led German troops to kill the native inhabitants.

Von Francois married a Damara lady – each the Damaras and Namas are giant ethnic teams in Namibia who share the identical language – who gave delivery to a daughter. Certainly one of Von Francois descendants, Sharon Nangombe, advised VOA she agreed it was within the curiosity of the nation for the statue to be eliminated.

The choice to drag down the statue was made in October by Windhoek Metropolis Council and follows a decision in 2021 to develop an encompassing coverage on heritage issues. On the official web site of town of Windhoek, it says the current Windhoek was based in 1890 when Von Francois laid the muse stone of the fort however the first recorded settlements made by Jonker Afrikaner date again to round 1849.

An avenue named after Curt von Francois was modified in 1990, the yr it turned impartial.

Germany agreed final yr to fund 1.3 billion {dollars} in improvement initiatives in Namibia over 30 years to compensate for the killings and land that was taken. In October, Namibia requested Germany to renegotiate the phrases of the deal, which it refused to do.

The statue of von Francois was moved to a museum.

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