Mixed reactions in Namibia over rejected Germany reparations offer

Reactions are pouring in Namibia over the government's rejection of a 10 million euros genocide reparations offer from Germany.

Namibia's President Hage Geingob on Tuesday said reparations offered by Germany for mass killings in its then colony were "not acceptable" and needed to be "revised".

There are mixed reactions on the streets of Windhoek the capital.

For some, this is about human life here. "Once human life is lost, there is nothing that anyone can really do about it. There is no amount of money that can pay back". For others, the Namibian government should not be so involved since the people that were affected already have a team of people that represent them.

THE GENOCIDE STORY

German occupiers in Namibia killed tens of thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people in 1904-1908 massacres, which historians have called the first genocide of the 20th century.

In the Battle of Waterberg in August 1904, around 80,000 Herero fled including women and children. German troops reportedly went after them across what is now known as the Kalahari Desert. Only 15,000 Herero survived.

The German government has so far refused to apologise for the killings.

In 2015, the two countries started negotiating an agreement that would combine an official apology by Germany as well as development aid.