German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says Germany will support Namibia and the descendants of the Herero and Nama victims with €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) for reconstruction and development and ask for forgiveness for the "crimes of German colonial rule." Germany will also begin to admit that the atrocities committed against the ethnic groups were an act of genocide.

"These are very positive developments in light of a very long process that has been accelerated over the past five years. People will never forget this genocide; they live with it. And this is an important process in terms of healing those wounds," Namibian presidential press secretary Alfredo Hengari told CNN.

However, opposition political parties have labelled the German government's offer to make amends for the brutal extermination of Ovaherero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908 an “insult to Namibia.” German imperial troops killed tens of thousands of Herero and Nama more than 100 years ago, which is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century and a forerunner to the German atrocities of World War II.

“LPMs (Landless People’s Movement) stance on the matter is that if Namibia receives money from Germany, it should go to the traditional authorities of the affected communities and not to the government. Instead, the government can audit,” LPM spokesperson Joyce Muzengua told the Namibian.

“Is this the kind of reparation that we are supposed to be excited about? This is just public relations. This is a sellout job by the Namibian government. The government has betrayed the cause of my people," Vekuii Rukoro, the Paramount Chief of Herero people, former attorney general, and member of parliament told CNN.

Rukoro said that Herero and Nama victim groups expect monetary reparations. He said reparations didn't need to go to individual people, but should be in the form of a collective payment to the descendants of those killed and pushed off their land during the genocide.