By Asser Ntinda
SWAPO Party, Namibia’s ruling party, turns 50 years old on Monday, 19 April 2010. It has been a long journey, spanning five decades of triumph and tragedy, victories and set-backs, which culminated in Namibia’s independence on 21 March, 1990.On that day, Founding President Dr Sam Nujoma told the world: “I move, in the name of our people, to declare that Namibia is forever free, sovereign and independent.”
That was an hour Namibians had been waiting for, for more than a century. United under the banner of SWAPO, Namibians fought fierce battles to set themselves free from the yoke of colonialism and apartheid domination.
Founded on April 19, 1960, the history of SWAPO is a history of battles won and tragedies encountered. Massacres at Oshatotwa, Oshikuku, Oshakati and Cassinga were tragedies that would never be forgotten.
Triumphant battles too were waged between 1966 and 1989, battles which inspired Namibians to soldier on in their fight against the South African Army, which was one of the most formidable armies in Africa. That army was brought to its knees by brave men and women, who simply said “No to colonialism and Apartheid Regime.”
South African generals came and left, each promising to defeat SWAPO and “break the backbone” of its military wing, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia, PLAN.
They failed. In Dr Nujoma and his PLAN commanders, they found their equals. They stood up to them, and won the war under the banner of SWAPO. From its inception in 1960, Sam Nujoma led that liberation movement with a majestic sense of purpose. Even when challenges seemed insurmountable, Dr Nujoma showed the way. SWAPO was formed to unite all Namibians under its umbrella to fight for their inalienable rights to freedom, independence and self-determination.
It replaced the Owambo People’s Organization, OP0, whose main objectives, among others, were to end the contract labour system and unite all the people to gain freedom and independence.
But the name had a tribal connotation – hence the change to SWAPO, which represented all the people of South West Africa, as Namibia was then called. SWAPO’s first strategy was to unite all Namibians irrespective of their tribal or ethnic origins.
It successfully mobilized Namibians to demand their independence from the apartheid colonial regime of South Africa, using peaceful means and petitions to the United Nations, UN.
Using underground networks, SWAPO leaders crisscrossed the length and breadth of the country, recruiting people to join SWAPO. Its message spread like wildfire all over the country. Within five years, SWAPO was a political force to reckon with, still using peaceful means to demand Namibia’s independence.
But the SWAPO Party leadership immediately realized that peaceful petitions would not yield any result. South Africa simply ignored them while continuing to suppress and oppress the Namibian people.
The apartheid regime continued to exploit the country’s natural resources just to benefit the white community and the western countries such as Britain, West German, France, the US and Canada.
SWAPO decided to wage the struggle through three fronts – political, diplomatic and military fronts. It launched the armed struggle on August 26, 1966, after all peaceful efforts to bring about Namibia’s independence had failed.
SWAPO continued to mobilize
the international community
through the United Nations,
the Organization of African
Unity, OAU, (now the African
Union, AU), the Non-
Aligned Movement, NAM,
and other international platforms.
The diplomatic efforts
culminated in SWAPO being
recognized by the UN as the
“sole and authentic” representative
of the Namibian people
in the early 1970s.
As years went by, SWAPO
stepped up its political mobilization
inside the country, which
resulted in many people fleeing
their country to countries
like Zambia, Tanzania,
Botswana and later Angola.Diplomatic efforts were also intensified and the international community became more and more aware of the plight of the Namibian people.
As a result, SWAPO succeeded to have South Africa’s presence in Namibia declared illegal by the UN, thus putting more pressure on the apartheid regime to accept Namibia’s independence.
Through sustained diplomatic efforts, South Africa became increasingly isolated by the international community.
The UN also imposed sanctions on the apartheid regime, but the western countries mentioned above defied such sanctions, thus delaying Namibia’s independence and prolonging the suffering of the Namibian people.
The world body has also passed numerous resolutions condemning South Africa’s illegal occupation of Namibia. In 1978, the UN passed Resolution 435 which called for free and fair elections in Namibia, controlled and supervised by the UN.
That Resolution became the backbone of the negotiations between SWAPO Party, the apartheid South African regime, the Frontline States, and the Western Contact Group — made up Britain, West Germany, France, Canada and the US. It took ten years to have that resolution implemented.
But it was the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia, PLAN, that gave South Africa nightmares. As South Africa continued to defy the international community, PLAN combatants intensified the armed struggle, right inside Namibia.
South African military bases were constantly attacked and their soldiers killed.
PLAN combatants relied on guerrilla warfare, using the “hit and run tactics” which demolarized the South African soldiers. As the war intensified, South Africa sent in more troops to Namibia. It also set up some quasi army units such the South West Africa Territorial Force, SWATF and Koevoet, with a view to Namibianizing the war. These units were made up of local people, but their commanders were Boers.
PLAN combatants, however, retained the upper hand. The early and mid 1980s saw the intensification of the armed struggle, which culminated in the famous Battle of Quito Cuanavalle in 1988. This battle forced South Africa to accept the implementation of Resolution 435 in November 1989, and eventually the independence of Namibia in 1990.
Between 1960 and 2010 lies 50 years of SWAPO’s glorious history, a history of tested leadership, tested in the crucible of the struggle. The years to come will see SWAPO Party making inerasable marks on Namibia’s political landscape.
Founding President Dr Nujoma aptly put it on Independence day in 1990: “Today our hearts are filled with great joy and jubilation because our deepest and longest yearning has been realized.”
That is the history of SWAPO Party.
