Namibia: Independence Memorial Museum in Windhoek officially inaugurated!

The Independence Memorial Museum in Windhoek was finally inaugurated by Namibia's President Hifikepunye Pohamba on the country's 24th Independence Day on 21 March 2014. The museum, situated right between the Alte Feste Museum and the Christus Kirche on Robert Mugabe Avenue in Windhoek, showcases Namibia’s long history of anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation struggle. We'll update this posting as soon as we can find any info about opening times, entrance fees etc..
Also on Independence Day, President Pohamba unveiled the new Sam Nujoma Statue, which stands on a pedestal on the hill where the Reiterdenkmal* stood for more than 102 years, and, few metres away to the south, the Genocide Memorial Statue. 




*The Reiterdenkmal was moved to the courtyard of the Alte Feste Museum on Christmas night 2013.

Windhoek: The "Reiterdenkmal" will get replaced by a statue of Sam Nujoma

The old Reiterdenkmal

Back in 2009, as the construction of Windhoek's new Independence Memorial Museum next to the Alte Feste at the site opposite the Christuskirche began, the 100-year-old Reiterdenkmal had to be removed. In 2010, the monument was re-erected close to its original site in front of the Alte Feste. Now, about 2 years later, the bronze statue of a German cavalryman will again be removed. According to an article "The Namibian", a statue of Namibia’s founding President, Sam Nujoma, will replace the equestrian monument. The new statue of Sam Nujoma, which was build already a couple of years ago, will be erected in front of the new Independence Memorial Museum to "symbolise the resistance of the Namibian nation against colonialism".
Windhoek's new museum was supposed to be opened on the 20th Independence Day of Namibia on 21 March 2010, but due to certain delays in the construction work, the opening was postponed to the end of 2011. The Independence Memorial Museum is currently still not open to the public.