The main celebrations to mark the hundredth anniversary of Captain Hendrik Witbooi’s death on 29 October 1905 were held in Gibeon on 29 October 2005. Ambassador Wolfgang Massing who took part in the celebrations as representative of the German government, announced in his speech the return of some precious documents of the late Captain Hendrik Witbooi from Germany to Namibia.

How did these documents find their way back to Namibia?

Captain Witbooi copied all his correspondence into books, one of which was confiscated by German soldiers on 5 December 1904 at Rietmond. Some pages of this book were discovered in Germany some years ago and bought by Dr. Klaus Goebel of Munich. The German Embassy has been in contact with Dr. Goebel for quite some time, resulting in his agreement to return this documentation to Namibia. The originals have been forwarded to the National Archives of Namibia, where they will be added to Hendrik Witbooi’s other writings.

During the celebrations a copy of these valuable documents was handed over to Rev. Captain Dr. Hendrik Witbooi, the great-grandson of the legendary captain, as a gesture of friendship and reconciliation between our two countries and peoples.

During the celebrations the exhibition "The Life and Times of |Gamab !Nanseb, Hendrik Witbooi and his People" was officially opened. As a sign of appreciation and respect for the late Captain Hendrik Witbooi the German government supported the celebrations financially.