The Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) has maintained its rejection of the Namibia-Germany joint declaration of the 1904-08 genocide, accusing the two governments of excluding the descendants of the victims from the negotiations. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, OTA paramount chief of one faction Mutjinde Katjiua said: “It cannot be about us, without us”. He argued that the Ovaherero people must have a meaningful role in all matters concerning genocide and reparations. “No individual, no faction and no government-appointed structure has the authority to negotiate away the rights of the Ovaherero nation,” Katjiua said. According to Katjiua, the Namibian government’s role should be limited to facilitating direct negotiations between descendants and Germany.