Stuttgart’s Linden Mu­seum holds Hendrik Witbooi’s bible from Namibia

THE iconic bible that accompanied the great Nama captain, Hendrik Witbooi, on the battlefield, is among the many other artifacts of Namibian history, besides the genocide skulls, still in the hands of the German government. This was revealed by Ida Hoffman, for­mer Swapo parliamentarian and head of the Nama Technical Committee (NTC), a group which together with the Herero Technical Committee (HTC) are demanding the repa­triation of Nama and Ovaherero genocide skulls from Germany. Witbooi’s bible is said to have inspired his Christian-themed letters to various Ger­man military leaders, now compiled and fa­mously referred to as the ‘Hendrik Witbooi Papers’. The man on the the Namibian notes is the most revered Nama leader, who led the military resistance against German colo­nialism. It is not clear when and how the bi­ble landed in Germany, but it was confirmed that it is being kept at Stuttgart’s Linden Mu­seum, were it is believed to have been stored for decades. According to Werner Classen, a former United Democratic Front (UDF) City of Windhoek councillor who now works close­ly with Hoffman, the museum’s director, Dr Inés de Castro, has requested from them ad­ditional information that might piece togeth­er how the bible ended up in her institution. “She is aware that they have a powerful artefact and requested our help. However, our stand is that it should be returned to Namibia together with the skulls,” Classen said. With regard to the genocide skulls, Hoffman who was speaking at a media brief­ing on her return from a Pan-African Con­gress in Munich last week, said 17 skulls are ready for repatriation from the Universities of Freiburg and Grefiswald, while many others are kept at the Berlin Society of An­thropology, Focke Museum, and by private individuals. “The main problem with the return of the skulls is the strange reluctance and the re­fusal to acknowledge guilt, give a proper apology, a frame for reparations and the return of the skulls to Namibia,” Hoffman said. So far, 20 skulls were handed to the Na­mibian government in September 2011, while government, on the orders of Presi­dent Hifikepunye Pohamba, has established a Human Rights Commission in the Office of the Prime Minister, to co-ordinate and consult with relevant stakeholders in guid­ing government’s handling of issues related to genocide.