A truth commission on German colonial rule in Namibia?

This chapter discusses the potential and some of the challenges of a truth commission addressing German colonial rule and its legacies in Namibia. Traditionally, such commissions have been established in transitional processes from authoritarian rule to democracy and until recently were considered unsuitable to address colonialism and its legacies. Over the past two decades or so, this consensus has been gradually shifting and expanding, with an increasing number of scholars, policy makers and international organisations assuming the general usefulness of transitional justice mechanisms to address past atrocities also in colonial contexts. With regard to a potential commission addressing Namibia’s colonial past, no detailed discussion on its potential and challenges has emerged to date. This study makes a first step in this direction by building on earlier research that analysed the experiences of three African countries with commissions mandated to address colonial injustices and their legacies. The lessons that emerged from this research are tested, further refined and adapted to the Namibian context through an analysis of the views expressed in interviews with descendant communities.