Defence and veterans affairs Minister Frans Kapofi has cautioned that further delays in inaugurating the Cassinga Memorial could lead to deterioration of the facility and increased costs for both Namibia and Angola. The memorial, a joint project between the two countries, has reached about 99% completion, nearly nine years after construction began. Kapofi made the remarks in Lubango, Angola, following a joint inspection of the Cassinga Memorial Park.
The Cassinga Memorial is being built at the site of the 4 May 1978 attack by South African apartheid forces on Namibian refugees in southern Angola. According to reports, more than 900 Namibian refugees, mostly women and children, were killed and buried in mass graves at the site. The memorial aims to honor those killed and preserve the shared liberation history of Namibia and Angola. Construction had been affected by unintended interruptions, including the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges.
Despite the substantial completion of the memorial, several outstanding issues remain, including the engraving of names of the victims of the 1978 Cassinga massacre. Kapofi also raised concerns over the fading and peeling of the national coats of arms at the memorial, while water supply and wildfire prevention remain among the outstanding matters requiring attention. The two governments have committed to completing the remaining works and inaugurating the memorial at the earliest mutually convenient opportunity.
The Namibia-Angola Joint High-Level Committee met for six days to discuss the project and agreed on the need for interim arrangements to preserve and manage the memorial immediately after its inauguration. Kapofi said President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah had indicated her readiness to co-inaugurate the memorial once an invitation is extended by Angolan President João Lourenço. The ministers also agreed to amend the bilateral agreement governing the memorial to ensure its significance is respected and preserved.
Angola’s minister of national defence, former combatants and veterans of the homeland, General (Rtd.) Lúcio Gonçalves Amaral, stressed that the memorial should not only preserve the physical site but also house documents, photographs, testimonies, and other historical material for research and presentation. The outcome of the meeting will serve as a basis for the necessary amendments to the bilateral agreement.
The Cassinga project was jointly initiated by Namibia and Angola in 2017 to honor those killed in the attack and preserve their shared liberation history. The latest engagement was the ninth technical visit and third high-level meeting on the project. Kapofi expressed satisfaction with the progress, saying it is "utterly gratifying to finally see that, officially, the construction phase of the park is substantially completed."
The two governments have agreed to put in place interim measures to protect and manage the memorial immediately after the inauguration, while long-term management arrangements are finalized. No inauguration date has been announced, but both countries are committed to completing the remaining works and inaugurating the memorial as soon as possible.
Key points
- The Cassinga Memorial project is 99% complete, nearly nine years after construction began.
- Further delays in inauguration could result in deterioration of the facility and increased costs for both governments.
- The memorial aims to honor over 900 Namibian refugees killed in the 1978 Cassinga massacre.
