Vekuii Rukoro – Windhoek Observer

03 Jul

Stalemate over Rukoro, Kerina burial

ObserverObserver MoneyMburumba Kerina, Vekuii Rukoro

Staff Writer Stalemate, is how the situation can appropriately be described regarding the commitment to eternal earth of both the Paramount Chief (PC) of the Ovaherero, Vekuii Rukoro, and liberation petitioning stalwart, Mburumba Kerina. Both are destined for the burial at Ovaherero Heroes and Heroines’ Acre in Okahandja. PC Rukoro naturally as has been the tradition for many years pre-colonial with the likes of Tjamuaha and Maharero laid to rest in Okahandja. And in later years Samuel Maharero since 1923 with the re-interment of his remains from Botswana. With late Kerina this is by his own wishes being first among…

26 Jun

Rukoro and Ngavirue’s deaths could delay agreement

ObserverObserver MoneyCovid-19, Dr Zedekia Ngavirue, Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA), Vekuii Rukoro

Andrew Kathindi The deaths of Ovaherero Paramount Chief, Vekuii Rukoro’s and Government Special Envoy on Genocide, Dr Zedekia Ngavirue, could delay the agreement the Namibian government and its German counterpart have crafted, analysts think. Rukoro died last Friday after a short illness with COVID-19 while Ngavirue died Thursday morning of a similar affliction. Historian Juergen Zimmerer thinks that Rukoro’s death could further be impacting the agreement in which the government of the Federal Republic of Germany is bidding to help victim communities of the 1904-1908 genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama with development projects as a means of atonement. This…

24 Jun

Rukoro unlikely to be buried this week

ObserverObserver MoneyCovid-19, Vekuii Rukoro

Andrew Kathindi It is highly unlikely that the Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero, Vekuii Rukoro, will be buried within the seven days as per the COVID-19 regulations. Although Minister of Health and Social Services (MOHSS), Kalumbi Shangula, has not pronounced himself on the matter following a request from the Ovaherero Traditional Authorities (OTA) to extend the window in which Chief Paramount of the Ovaherero, Vekuii Rukoro may be buried, logistics are in a premature stage for Rukoro to be accorded a State Funeral by Friday. OTA Secretary General, Mutjinde Katjiua, who wrote to Kalumbi requesting an extension, says he has…

22 Jun

OTA appoints Transitional Committee

ObserverObserver MoneyOvaherero Paramount Chief, Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA), Vekuii Rukoro

Staff Writer Following the sudden death of Ovaherero Paramount Chief, Vekuii Rukoro, the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) has appointed a Transitional Committee assuming all the functions of the Paramount Chief. The Committee, appointed on Saturday, consists of three chiefs and four former advisers of the late paramount chief. The three chiefs are Vipuira Kapuuo of Ovitoto, Boas Tjingaete of Otjombinde and Rehabeam Rukambe of Okamatapati. The advisers are Mac Hengari, Amon Ngarite, Laurencia Katjitai and OTA Secretary, Mutjinde Katjiua. The chairperson of the OTA Genocide Committee, Nandiuasora Mazeingo, is an ex-officio member of the transitional committee. Katjiua will chair the…

19 Jun

Ovaherero Paramount Chief, Vekuii Rukoro, remembered

ObserverObserver MoneyNama, Ovaherero, Ovaherero Royal Crown, Paramount Chief (PC) of the Ovaherero, Vekuii Rukoro

Andrew Kathindi Namibians on Friday morning woke up to the news of the passing of Paramount Chief (PC) of the Ovaherero, Vekuii Rukoro. This is two days after Secretary General of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA), Mutjinde Katjiua, confirmed that Rukoro had tested positive for COVID-19 but was in good spirits and responding well to medication. The PC’s wife, Dina Rukoro, arrived earlier on Friday morning in the country from the United States of America (USA), where she works. “President Hage G. Geingob extends deepest sympathies to the bereaved wife, Mrs. Dinah Jorokee Rukoro, the children, entire family, Ovaherero Traditional…

10 Jun

Ovaherero and Nama leaders plan ahead …as appeal to US Supreme court is declined

ObserverObserver MoneyParamount Chief of the Ovaherero, US Supreme Court, Vekuii Rukoro

Andrew Kathindi Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero, Vekuii Rukoro, has revealed that they will now seek recourse at the United Nations and the African Union for justice in the matter regarding the genocide that was committed by Germany between 1904 and 1908. On Monday 7 June, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a petition by the Nama and Ovaherero leaders, which sought to restart a lawsuit for damages against Germany for the genocide. “In light of the latest diplomatic and legal developments, we shall now escalate our campaign at the diplomatic front by ensuring that the United Nations, the…

09 Jun

High Court Skips Case Over German Imperial Africa Atrocities

ObserverObserver MoneyNama, Ovaherero, U.S. Supreme Court, Vekuii Rukoro

Lauren Berg The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a petition to revive a lawsuit seeking damages from Germany for atrocities and property seizures committed by its colonial authorities against Indigenous groups from southwestern Africa more than a century ago. The high court’s denial comes after the Second Circuit in September tossed the suit after finding that a proposed class seeking to represent members and descendants of the Ovaherero and Nama Indigenous peoples could not overcome Germany’s sovereign immunity because they hadn’t proved that money used by the country to purchase property in New York could be traced…

08 May

Genocide reparations case cost millions

ObserverObserver MoneyGenocide reparations case cost millions, Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA), Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA), Vekuii Rukoro

Kandjemuni Kamuiiri Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) has revealed that it and the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA) has forked out million in legal fees over that past 20 years in their legal fight to compel Germany to pay reparations for the genocide committed against the tribe from 1904-08. Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) Paramount Chief, Vekuii Rukoro, in an interview with the Windhoek Observer, although tight lipped on the exact amount, said “the cost of taking the German government to court in New York and litigating that case all the way to the highest court in the United States is indeed…

29 Sep

Traditional authorities vow to take case to US Supreme Court

ObserverObserver MoneyGenocide, Paramount Chief Advocate of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority, US Supreme Court, Vekuii Rukoro

Andrew Kathindi Genocide descendants have vowed to continue the fight “in and out of court” after the US Court of Appeals, last week, dismissed their case brought after they unsuccessfully sued the German government for reparations for the atrocities committed from 1904-1908 in US Federal Court. Paramount Chief Advocate of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority, Vekuii Rukoro and Gaob Johannes Isaack of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association, have instructed their lawyers in New York to file a Petition for Rehearing and for "En Banc" Proceedings, following a USA Court of Appeals’ decision, which they say had “fundamental legal error at its…