Faculty of Natural Resources and Spatial Sciences
Integrated Land Management Institute (ILMI)
Land, livelihoods and housing
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Working Paper
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institutions and in close collaboration with grassroots organisations and inhabitants.
November 2020
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Working Paper No. 11
Ruptures and
continuities of struggle:
social movements and popular
struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
Heike Becker
Department of Anthropology
University of the Western Cape
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 1
EditorialNote
ThisworkingpaperisbasedonalecturethatProfBeckerdeliveredattheuniversityonFebruary2020.We
wouldliketothanktotworeviewersthatkindlywentthroughthedraftsubmitted.Oneofthemtookthe
initiativetowriteashorttextinresponsetothepaper,whichreflectshowthepaperisrelevantinawider
discourseonurbanand largersocial struggles inNamibia.Wehave thereforedecided tore-print ithere
alongwithProfBeckersresponsetowardtheend.
Rupturesandcontinuitiesofstruggle:
socialmovementsandpopularstrugglesinurbanNamibia,1980s
INTRODUCTION
ThisworkingpaperisbasedonapresentationIgaveinFebruary2020duringalunchtimeseminarat
the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). I am grateful to Guillermo Delgado of
NUSTsIntegratedLandManagementInstitute(ILMI)andtheDepartmentofArchitectureandSpatial
Planning for invitingme to share some of my research on Namibian urban social movements and
popularstrugglesduringthe1980s.
The seminarwas an inspiring occasion to share thoughtswith youngNamibianurban activists and
postgraduate students, as well as some older activists who had personal memories of the rising
movementsofthelastdecadebeforeNamibianindependence.Thepresentationwasaccompaniedbya
series of photographs by John Liebenberg (1958-2020), the eminent photographer who had
documented the remarkable community struggles in Namibia in the 1980s. At the time of his
unexpecteddeathon18February2020, justaweekbeforemypresentationatNUST, Ihadbeen in
contactforsometimewithJohnregardingthepossiblecuratorshipofanexhibitionofhisphotography
of the 1980s community struggles for a conference on narrations of the nation, which had been
plannedtotakeplaceinWindhoeklaterintheyear.1
Rather than followingstandardpracticeandplaceacknowledgments ina footnote, Ihavechosen to
open theworkingpaperwithpointingout thecontextof itspresentationanddiscussion,whichhas
been significant for pushing my thinking further. The student-activists in the audience had little
knowledgeaboutthehistoryofearlierurbanstrugglesinNamibiabuttheycertainlyknewmuchabout
and provided deed insights into todays popular politics around urban land, infrastructure and
livelihoods. The audience drew fascinating connections, and showed a special interest in learning
about the engagement of culturalworkers in themovement. Itwas felt that the new generation of
grassrootsactivistscouldlearnmuchfromactivitiesofBRICKS,theleadingmediaandcultureproject
ofthe1980sandearly1990s.
In the light of a new generation ofNamibian activistswho have been forcefully asking penetrating
questionsandengagingincollectiveactionoverthepastfewyears,thehistoryofthepopularurban
revoltofthe1980shasbecomeparticularlysignificantagain.
I openedmypresentationwith a personal account of how I had encountered theurban activists in
Windhoekat thetimeofNamibian independence in1990,withspecialattentiontomusicandsocial
movements in the finaldecadeof theNamibianstruggle for liberation fromapartheidcolonialism. I
1 The conference was cancelled/ postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions from March 2020.
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 2
usedthiswindowintotheeverydaylifeofyoungactiviststoaddresssocialandpoliticaldevelopments
inWindhoek,andtoalesserextent,othertownsincentralandsouthernNamibiainthe1980s.
From 1983 onward urban residents increasingly protested against poor living conditions and the
oppression as the everyday experience of life under apartheid colonialism. I showed how the new
social movements of the 1980s took up peoples day-to-day concerns under the conditions of
worseningpovertyafter thepartialabolitionof influxcontrol laws,a seriesofdevastatingdroughts
and an economic recession hit the economy in the late 1970s. My central argument was that the
popularmovementstogetherwiththeincreasinglypoliticisedstanceofthemainstreamchurchesfilled
apoliticalvacuumleftbythede-factodissolutionandlargelyinactivityofSWAPOinsideNamibia.The
activismofstudents,workers,womenandtownshipresidentassociationsbecamemomentousinthe
anti-apartheid struggle inside Namibia, however the rising grassroots social movement activity
irritatedSWAPO,whichwassuspiciousofanyactivitiesbeyonditscontrol.Tensionsgrewbetweenthe
organisedpoliticalliberationmovementandthegrassrootsactivists(Becker,1995,pp.171-226).
Iraisedquestionswhetherthesetensionsmayberesponsibleforthedeplorablefactthatthereisvery
little documentation available of the internal struggle by professional historians and in Namibian
publichistory.Theexternalnationaliststrugglefromexilecontinuestodominatethehistoriography
oftheNamibianstruggleforindependence.
RevisitingNamibias little-knownsocialmovementsof the1980s invitesalternativequestionsabout
thenationaliststruggle.Inadditiontoconsideringthesignificanceofgrassrootsstrugglesandbread-
and-butterissues(astheyreferredtopeopleslivelihoods),theexperienceofthe1980ssuggeststhe
needtore-thinktheconnectionsbetweenpopularcultureandsocialmovements.Thedecade-and-a-
half fromthe late1970s throughto theearly1990salsohighlightedtransnationalentanglementsof
struggle within Southern Africa, and specifically the connections and mutual influence between
NamibiaandSouthAfrica.
WINDHOEK1990
Letmestartwithmystory: IarrivedinNamibia intheearlysouthernwinterof1990, justovertwo
months after the countrys day of independence. Those were exhilarating times.Wherever I went,
Namibianshummedwithexcitementtheyoungandtheold,urbanitesandruraldwellers,thepoor
and thecomparativelyaffluent, thosewhohad just returned fromyearsofexileand thosewhohad
remainedinsidethecountry.Musicwaseverywhere,especiallyonweekends.WhetherItaggedalong
to braais (barbecues) in Windhoeks Katutura township, or joined my new Namibian friends for
partiesinthecitysmodest,increasinglyraciallymixedsuburbssuchasWindhoekNorth,similartunes
resoundedfromghettoblastersandHifisystems.
Itwas fun to startmyresearchongenderand theNamibian liberationstruggleduring thisexciting
timeofvibrantdiscussionsabouttheenvisagedpathwaystotheNamibianfuture,andequallyvibrant
sociallife.Quitetroublingthoughformeasapassionateyoungresearchercumantiapartheidactivist
fromWestGermanywas thatmostpopularmusic Iheard inNamibiacame fromSouthAfrica.Most
celebratedwere the female popmusic stars of the time, such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Brenda
Fassie.Theirsongswereinevitablyblastingawayin1990atWindhoektownshipbraais,andpartiesof
theeducatedNamibianleftofexileandespeciallythoseofinternalstruggleprovenance.
My new friendswere an energetic lot. A fewweeks aftermy arrival, some of the youngerwomen
activists,withwhomIhadbegunmyresearchon theNamibianwomensmovementandnationalist
politics (Becker, 1995), roped me into a range of activities and social events. Those were mostly
confident,university-educatedwomenintheirlatetwentiesandearlythirties.Wetalkedpoliticsand
loveinterests,andonweekendspartieduntiltheearlyhours.
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 3
ThesewomenformedpartofthesmallNamibianintelligentsia,whichmostlyconsistedofthosewho
haddriventheinternalanti-apartheidstruggleofthe1980s.Thisnationalistyetfiercelyindependent
intelligentsia included Black, and a few white2, Windhoek-based activists of the urban social
movementsofstudents,workers,women,andcommunityactivists.Theywerejoinedbyafewofthose
whohadjustreturnedfromexileincountriesaroundtheworld.
I was flustered: Why would those activists who had fought energetically for independence from
NamibiaspowerfulsouthernneighbourandformercolonizerlistenenthusiasticallytoSouthAfrican
music?Inotherwords,howdiditcomeaboutthattheNamibianactivistsappearedheavilyinfluenced
bySouthAfricanpopulartastesinmusic?
FROMSOUTHAFRICA,WITHREVOLUTIONARYLOVE
Getting to know the activists of 1980s Namibian urban social movements, making friends, and
eventuallyrecordingsomeoftheirlifehistorieshelpedtounravelthisapparentmystery.Ilearntthat
many of this activist generation had close links with South Africa, where increasing numbers of
Namibians had studied and often also become involved in South African anti-apartheid community
struggleactivismduring the1970sand1980s.Theyhadbroughtback ideas, tacticsandstyles from
theirparticipationinstudentandcommunityactivismdownsouth,mostofteninCapeTown,which
theyputtousebackhomeinNamibia.
AnumberoftheleadingactivistsandintellectualsinWindhoekhadbeenstudentsattheUniversityof
theWesternCape(UWC)nearCapeTown,whereInowteach.Thisuniversityhadbeenestablishedin
1960astheapartheidhighereducationinstitutionforcoloureds,theSouthAfricanracialcategoryfor
peopleofmixeddecent(andabouteveryoneelsewhocouldnotconvenientlybeclassifiedotherwise,
thusincludingalso,amongothers,SouthAfricanChineseanddescendantsofthefirstpeopleKhoisan
populations).InitsearlyyearsUWChadbeenadullconservativeacademicenvironment,dominated
bysecond-ratewhiteacademicsandgearedtowardstrainingamediocremiddleclassofprofessionals
andbureaucratsforthecolouredapartheidadministration.Bythe1980showevertheuniversityhad
become a radicalized intellectual home of the left and enrolled students irrespective of race and
ethnicity. Namibian UWC students and graduates particularly came to play a major role in in the
movement of community-based organisations (CBOs, as the social movements were collectively
referredto)asactivists,humanrightslawyersorsocialworkers(cf.BrownandLeys,2005,p.52).
InSouthAfricayoungNamibianshadreadFanon,Gramsci,Lenin,LatinAmericanliberationtheorists
such as Paulo Freire, and significantly had become acquainted with the South African Black
Consciousness(BC)movement,foundedbySteveBikoandhiscomradesfrom1968.ManyNamibian
students had beenmembers and activistswith the BC aligned South African Students Organisation
(SASO).SomealsohadplayedanactiveroleincommunitystrugglesontheCapeFlats,thevastareaof
townshipsandemergingshacksettlementsontheoutskirtsofCapeTown.
Akey figureamong thoseNamibian studentswasAndréStrauss,whohadgrownup inWalvisBay.
StrausswasafirstyearlawstudentatUWCin1976,theyearSouthAfricanstudentsroseupinamass
revoltaroundthecountry.Hehadbeenamong thesixty toseventyNamibianstudentsatUWCwho
became involved at the time in their ownNamibian student associationNamso (Nambian students
organisation). The Namibians also linked up with the South African revolt on campus and in the
surroundingtownshipcommunities.OfhistimeinCapeTownStraussrecalledreadingrevolutionary
literature, fierce battleswith police, but also his increasing involvement in cultural groups in fields
suchasdrama.AfterhisreturntoWindhoekinthe1980shebecamealeadingintellectualandactivist
insocialmovementspolitics.InaninterviewrecordedinapublicationbyColinLeysandSusanBrown
2 I capitalize Black to reference ideological and political discourse and a category based on joint historical and personal experience of
racism and oppression, encompassing in southern African contexts those subjected to the apartheid categories black/African,
coloured and Asian but use white in lowercase as a social-demographic rather than ideological reference.
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 4
(2005) he reflected on what he called the mutual influence of South African and Namibian anti-
apartheidactivism:
Ithinkthepredominantinfluenceonthethinkingoftheyouth,whethertheSwapoYouthLeague,
orNAMSO,orsomeofthechurchyouthbodies,camefromtheuniversitystudentscomingfrom
SouthAfrica.&
Thatwasthestoryofourgeneration.ButIthinkifyougobackyouwillfindallthegenerationsof
nationalistleaders,evenToivo,startedinCapeTown.Konzonguiziwasthere,Apolluswasthere,
theAbrahamswerethere, I thinkevenPresidentNujomawasthereatonestage, togetherwith
otherworkers.Therewasalwaysa lotofmutual influencebetween the twocountries(cited in
BrownandLeys,2005,p.90).
Thisinfluentialactivistofthe1980sthusdrewalinetoanearliergenerationofNamibians,whohad
been significant in the nascent nationalism and urban struggles, associated with Windhoeks Old
Location in the late1950s.The OldLocationnear centralWindhoekwashome to a sociallyhighly
diverse community. It ismemorized in Namibian nationalist historiography for its December 1959
resistance against the forced removals to the newapartheid townships ofKatutura andKhomasdal
whilelittlehasbeenrecordedofitssociallife,includingpatternsofconsumption,culturalandleisure
styles,andofcoursethemusic,whichwasplayedthere(butseeJaftaetal,1999).
Similar towhathappened in the1980s, leadingpoliticalmilitants in theOldLocationcame froman
incipient Namibian intelligentsia, to name but two prominent activists, Zedekia Ngavirue and Emil
ApolluswhohadstudiedinSouthAfrica,wheretheyhadbecomeinvolvedwithANCpolitics.Amost
interestingproject of that first urban activist generationwasNamibias first newspaper,whichwas
editedandpublishedbyAfricans.IhavewrittenelsewhereabouttheSouthWestNews/SuidwesNuus,
whichstartedpublishinginMarch1960,afewmonthsafterthe10Decembershootingsofanti-forced
removalprotestersintheOldLocation(Becker,2015,pp.27-29).Thepaperreportedovertlypolitical
issues fromanationalistperspective;however,asDagHenrichsen(1997,23)pointsout, itwasalso
concerned with the everyday life of Africans, thus speaking to, and about, the social and cultural
worlds, in which the political activism was rooted. Popular cultural practices and performance,
including new forms of language and humour, sports clubs, beauty contests, and significantly jive
musicwerecrucialtotheurbanmodernitythatemergedinNamibiaandacrosstheAfricancontinent
in theaftermathofWorldWar II.Thepost-warAfricanmodernitywasmarkedbyexpectationsofa
bright future and embraced a distinctive cultural repertoire. The first urban generation jazzed and
jivedbandmembersoftheNamibianOriginalJazzMasters,astheyareknowtoday,wereplayingjazz
in the 1950sOld Location already. Some of themhad brought back the love for jazz from stints of
migrantlabourinSouthAfricafromthe1940sonwards(Informanté,28November2012).
Liketheearlieractivistgenerationofthe1950s,theNamibianmilitantsofthe1980swhowereatthe
forefrontofurbanpoliticalandsocial struggleshadpersonalexperienceofsocial lifeandpolitics in
SouthAfrica andhadbroughtback ideas andpractices of anti-apartheid activism, alongwith South
African tastes in popular music, and the alternative sartorial, artistic, and literary styles of South
African oppositional politics. It was indeed a striking recognition duringmy early 1990s fieldwork
withactivistsfromthebroadspectrumofcivilsocietyorganisationsthattheinternal,urbanNamibian
opposition to South African rule was as heavily influenced by South African political and cultural
styles,aswastheapartheidcolonialdispensationitself.Thetransnationalentanglementsofsouthern
African social movement politics and popular culture were significant. They complemented, and
encouraged,theformationofnetworksamongNamibiansofdifferentsocialandculturalbackgrounds.
These two transnational and national developments were instrumental in the creation of a
cosmopolitan nationalism in urban settings, particularly inWindhoek. It thus comes as no surprise
thatopponentsofNamibianapartheid colonialismappropriated theSouthAfricanpopularmusicof
thetimealongwiththestylesandtacticsofSouthAfricanoppositionalpolitics.YvonneChakaChaka,
Brenda Fassie and other popular musicians of the 1980s perfectly captured the activist spirit and
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
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boundary-crossingdesiresof theyoungactivistsof the lateapartheidera inNamibiaasmuchas in
SouthAfrica.
ThepopularityofSouthAfricanmusic in the finalyearsofSouthAfricanruleoverNamibiawasnot
simply a consequence of SouthAfrican sub-imperialism important as the recognition of theuneven
regionaltieswithinsouthernAfricaremains.Toanextentatleast,itwasalsoavibrantexpressionof
theborder-crossing, cosmopolitannationalismof the socialmovements thatmadeupamomentous
partoftheinternalresistanceinurbanNamibia,likeinSouthAfricascities.
URBANSOCIALMOVEMENTSINTHE1980S
SilencesofNamibiannarrativesofliberation
Although, for several reasons, Namibian civil society proved not to be very robust in the years
followingindependence,thecommunityactivismofthelate1980shelpedsignificantlytoundermine
South African rule over Namibia. Its absence in the historiography of Namibian decolonisation
strugglesisquiteundeservedlyablindspot.Itisnottheonlyone.PostcolonialNamibiannarrativesof
nationalism are pepperedwith silences. In the 21st century the narrative of Namibian anti-colonial
strugglehasbeguntoopenup,iftentatively,tomoreinclusiveperspectives(Kössler,2007).Thusfar,
thesehave largelybeenrestricted,however, toan increasingconsiderationof theearlyanti-colonial
resistance in southern and central Namibia. This has recently gainedmomentum in the context of
ongoing, contested negotiations about Germanys colonial genocide in Namibia (1904-1908), and
thrustforwardbytheNamibianapologyandreparationsmovementsandtheirsupportersinGerman
decolonizationmovements.
Regarding the period of the nationalist struggle, between the 1960s and 1980s, however little has
changedregardingthepostcolonialnarrative.Publicmemorynarrations,thecountrysritualpolitical
calendarandmonumentalisationcontinuetocelebratethearmedstrugglefromexileasthefoundation
of national liberation. I have in earlierwork pointed out particularly the silence surrounding local
peoples agency in the formerwar zone,which is linked to the portrayal of local people as having
sufferedandbeingtraumatisedbyhistoricaleventsanacknowledgmentofvictimhoodratherthanof
agency, which appears to be a crucial dimension of the foundation myth of postcolonial Namibia
(Becker,2011).Thisgoesalongtheline:Theexile-basedpoliticalandmilitarynationalismofSWAPO
wonindependencethroughthebarrelofagun;thepartplayedbythecivilianpopulationduringthe
liberationwarhasbeen,atbest,contingentonthehegemonicdiscourse.
The silences surrounding the urban, community-based activism during the final decade before
Namibianindependencereachevendeeper.Tosomeextentthisrelatestowhathasbecomeknownas
persistenttensionbetweentheexternalandinternalwingsoftheorganizednationalistmovement,
SWAPO.Whatismore,andmorecomplicated,theerasureofNamibiasurbanstrugglesofthe1980sis
owed to the pronounced history of strained relations between SWAPO and the community
organisations.Thisdidnotsubsideafterindependence.Thepostcolonialstate,particularlyduringthe
Nujomapresidency(1990-2005)resistedpresumedhiddenagendasofcertaincivilsocietyinitiatives
(Becker,2019).
Namibiansocialmovementsofthe1980s
Inthe1980s,socialandpoliticaldevelopmentsinWindhoekandothertownsofcentralandsouthern
Namibia critically challenged the politics of the nationalist struggle. From 1983 onwards residents
protested against the price of electricity and formed street committees in several towns; a popular
revoltagainstpoor livingconditionsand theoppressionunderapartheidcolonialismwasstagedby
residentsassociations,andmovementsofworkers,studentsandwomen,andsignificantlyreflectedin
an emerging alternative press. A publication in 1987 listed 29 community-based organisations,
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ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 6
rangingfromresidentsassociationstowomens,church,educationandhealthgroups(Strauss1987,
pp.184-195).
The social movements took up peoples day-to-day concerns under the conditions of worsening
poverty after the (partial) abolition of influx control laws led to accelerated urbanization, and an
economic recession hit the economy towards the end of the 1970s (Wallace, 2011, pp.301-2). The
deteriorationoflivingconditionsoftheimpoverishedurbanmajoritywasthefirstsignificantfactorof
thepoliticaleconomythatledtothe(up)riseofpopularprotest.Povertyandurbanizationaggravated
following a series of devastation droughts in the early 1980s. In the words of one of the leading
activistsofthegrassrootsactivism,thesefactorsplayedtogetherandthesituationbecameexplosive.
AndréStraussexplained:
During this time, [&] the drought that we had reached its peak, and there was a very big
economiccrisis.Thedroughtandeconomicdeclineintensifiedthesufferingofthepeople.People
justdidnthaveenoughtoeat[&].Inthesouth,peopleweredyingandtheycameintoWindhoek
intheirthousands,anditwasjustexploding(citedin:Leys&Brown2005,p.92).
The crisishiturbanNamibiaat about the same time that theSouthAfrican regimebegan touse its
colonyasa testingground for limitedreform.Inthe later1970sSouthAfrica liftedsomeapartheid
restrictions,whichitdidnotyetdaredointheSouthAfricanheartland.Inasignificantmove,in1979
the legal requirement for separate residential areas had ended with the promulgation of the
AbolishmentofRacialDiscrimination(UrbanResidentialAreasandPublicAmenities)Act3of1979.
The reformsdidnot just impacton race relations.While theapartheidBantustans introduced in
Namibia following the devastating Odendaal commissions report of 1963 - remained bent on
ethnicity, coded as culture, in urban settings it was gradually de-emphasized. In Windhoek, for
instance,themid-1980sextensionofKatuturatownshipincludedthesignificantlynamedmulti-ethnic
Wanaheda section (Wa-mbo, Na-ma, He-rero, Da-mara). The political and legal reforms introduced
from the late 1970s contributed the second significant factor that came to play in the rise of new
movementsandformsofprotest.
Socialoccasions,whichhadbeengreatlyrestrictedfollowingtheforcedremovalofBlackWindhoekers
to theapartheid townships,becamegradually revitalized.Fromthe1970sonwards,nightclubsand
soccertournamentsprovidedincreasingopportunities,especiallyforyoungurbanites,tomeetacross
the fissionsofethnicity.Theurbanpopulationwhichcrossedethnicboundaries remainedsmallbut
became significant for an emerging new layer of activists who, in the mid-1980s, founded social
movementsandcommunity-basedorganizations(CBOs).
Athird,andparticularlysuggestivedynamicbehindtheriseofthenewmovementswastheemergence
andlifeexperienceofastillsmallbutgrowingNamibianintelligentsia.SecondaryschoolingforBlack
Namibianshadbecomemuchmorewidelyavailableforthegenerationthatcameofageinthe1970s
thanithadbeenbefore.GrowingnumbersofyoungNamibianswerekeenonpost-secondarystudies
in fieldsother thanthe limitedopportunities thathadbeenopen forBlacksbefore, ie., teachingand
nursing. An increasing number of bright young Namibian men and for the first time including
substantial numbers of youngwomen left for studies at South African universities at precisely the
momentwhenthatcountryeruptedinvibrantprotestsofyouthandparticularlystudents.Alreadyin
1974whentheconflictsbetweenSASOandtheapartheidstateescalatedattheUniversityoftheNorth
(colloquiallyknownas Turfloop),DanielTjongarero, latera leadingactivistofthe internalSWAPO
participatedintheprotestsasastudentandSASOactivistwhenthecampuswasclosedafterthearrest
of the student leaderAbrahamTiro.During theuprisingsof1976andagainduring thewidespread
popular revolt of themid- and later 1980s students from the apartheid states colony took part in
campusprotestsandsomebecameintenselyinvolvedintownshipprotests,too.
TheUniversityoftheWesternCapeplayedaparticularlysignificantroleinthisimportantprocessof
politicization. In the mid-1970s UWC had developed into a hotbed of Black Consciousness politics
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 7
amongcolouredyouth,whichinfluencedanumberofyoungNamibiansfromthecountryssouthern
andcentralregions. Inthemid-1970saboutsixtytoseventyNamibianswerestudentsatUWC,who
formed theWesternCapebranchofNAMSO,anorganisationofNamibian studentsat SouthAfrican
collegesanduniversities.TheNamibianstudentsofNAMSOlinkedupwithorganisationsoncampus,
such as SASO, the universitys Student Representative Council, and a number of different groups
involvedintheuprisings.Namibiansbecameanintegralpartoftheradicalpoliticsonandoffcampus.
AdvocateBienceGawanaswas among thoseNamibian studentsof the1970s. Shewas arrestedand
wentintoexilestraightfromBush,astheuniversitywasaffectionatelyknownduetoitsgeographical
andsociallocation.AndréStrausslistedabroadrangeofintellectualinfluencesfortheactivistsonthe
UWCcampusandinthetownshipsoftheCapeFlats:
Thereweremanyinfluencesonus.Welaidourhandsoneverythingwecouldget:Franz(sic!HB)
FanonsWretchedoftheEarth,Salinsky,Lenin,Gransci;IbecameafanofGramsci.Apartfrommy
Christian background and I was quite a devout Christian at that time the people who
influencedme enormouslywereGramsci,MaoTseTung, CheGuevaraandFidel Castro, and of
courseLenin.Leninplayedabigrole,Iwouldntonlysayinmylifebutalsointhelivesofalarge
numberofstudents.AndthenofcoursetherewasabigdoseofSteveBiko;HenryIsaacswasone
ofthebiggestproponentsofthethinkingofpeoplelikeSteveBiko.Wewereverylittleinfluenced
byMandelaorMbeki,butSisuluwasquitepopular.Andthenquitealotofinternationalwriters:
theLatinAmericansIcanrememberIllichandPauloFreireandonanotherlevel,peoplelike
Schumacher,andAminfromNorthAfrica;itwasquiteawidespectrum.Ithinkthepredominant
influenceonthethinkingoftheyouth,whethertheSwapoYouthLeague,orNAMSO,orsomeof
theChurchyouthbodies, came from theuniversity students coming fromSouthAfrica.But the
realactivistswhowereinchargeofSwapobranchestheywerelightyearsaheadofmostofthe
students concerning practical politics, because the socio-economic landscape in Namibia was
quite different from Cape Towns. We needed to work with them in order to understand the
villages,tounderstandthetownshipshere(citedinLeys&Brown,2005,p.90).
UnlikeGawanas,mostoftheyoungNamibianactivistsfromBushreturnedtoandbecamepolitically
activeinNamibia.WhenStrausscamehomeforhisfirstuniversityholidayinmid-1976,hejoinedthe
SWAPOYouthLeague.Thesimilarities,aswellas thepracticaland theoretical connectionsbetween
the liberation struggles in Namibia and South Africa were clear for him and for many among the
numberofyoungNamibiansstudyinginSouthAfrica:
Thesekindsoftheoreticalinfluence,aswellasthekindofpracticalexperiencethatwehadgotin
South Africa, meant that students coming from Cape Town could link up easily with Swapo
activists in Namibia; quite a lot of things were similar. One of the things about Swapos
constitutionthatinspiredtheyouthofthattimewasthatitstatedquitecategorically,weregoing
tocreateaclasslesssociety(ibid.)
The transnational entanglements of southern African socialmovement politics and popular culture
wereremarkable.ThemembersofthenascentNamibianintelligentsiawhohadstudiedinSouthAfrica
inthe1970sand1980sreturnedtoNamibiaandbroughtbackideasandpracticesofstudentpolitics
andthenewformsofanti-apartheidactivismthathadarisenafterthe1976Sowetorevolt,alongwith
the alternative styles of South African oppositional politics. The boundary-crossing desires of the
young anti-apartheid activists significantly broke down the barriers that prevented people from
creatingnetworksamongNamibiansofdifferentsocialandculturalbackgrounds.Thiscosmopolitan
nationalism remained confined to urban settings, particularly Windhoek; however it became an
important driving force of the anti-apartheid decolonization struggle in urbanNamibia; the leading
activistsofthenewurbanmovementsofthe1980scamefromthisbackground.
Unlikeinearlieranti-colonialNamibianmovementswomenplayedaleadingroleinthe1980swaveof
community activism. Womens autonomous organizing around their practical and strategic gender
interestswill bediscussedbelow. In addition to the role of thenascent intelligentsiawho returned
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after studying abroad,mostly in SouthAfrica, in themiddleof thedecade the releaseof the (male)
Namibian Robben Island prisoners provided a substantial boost for the activism (Wallace, 2011, p.
302).
Organisingthecommunityaroundbread-and-butterissues
Thepopularmovementstogetherwiththeincreasinglypoliticizedstanceofthemainstreamchurches
filled thepolitical vacuum left by thede-factodissolutionof SWAPO insideNamibia.While SWAPO,
unlike theANC in SouthAfrica,was never a banned organisation, generations of the organisations
activistsandleadersinsidethecountrysufferedharshrepression.Inthelate1970srepressionbecame
particularlybrutalandovertpoliticalactivitiesbecameexceedinglydifficulttopursue.Therewereno
longer public mass protests, and it even became difficult to carry on with the everyday work of
politicization,suchasthewriting,productionanddistributionofpamphletswiththeaimofpolitical
education,asPaulVleermuis,thenSWAPOscoordinatorinsouthernNamibia,recalled(Leys&Brown,
2005,p.102).Vleermuis,anotherformerUWCstudent,whosoonfelloutwithSWAPOandwasamong
thefoundingcommunityactivistsofthe1980s,explainedthelullofpoliticalactivity:
Sothingsbecameslow.Peoplewantedtobeoffice-holdersinSwapo,butitwasdifficulttokeep
thosepositions,becauseoftheriskofarrest,andtheonlywaytokeepthosepositionsandavoid
arrestwastobringtheworkoftheorganisationtoastandstill,usingtheargumentthatitwas
impossibletooperateinNamibia(citedinLeys&Brown,2005,p.107).
Yet,theharshrepressionmetedoutbytheSouthAfricanoccupationforcesandtheirNamibianallies
intheso-calledinterimgovernmentwasnottheonlyfactorforthefailureofconventionalnationalist
formsofmobilisationatthattime.Townshipresidentsinparticularhadmostlywithdrawnfrom,and
givenuphope in, the customary formsofnationalistpolitics; theurbanmajoritybuckledunder the
entangled pressures of limited reforms of petty apartheid laws, harsh repression, and worsening
poverty. The young activists, fresh from political as much as academic university in South Africa,
realisedthatnewpoliticalformshadtobetested.Theydevelopednewpoliticalforms,whichstarted
withthebreadandbutterissuesthataffectedtheurbanpoor.
AndréStraussgaveadetailedaccountoftheprocess:
Therewas a political resurgence:we started to organise people again,wewere getting to the
pointwherewithintwoorthreehourswecouldgetbetweenthreeandfivethousandpeopleto
gatherforarally.&Thepressurewasbecomingtoomuchforpeopleinthetownships;alloverwe
hadalotofdissatisfaction,andweorganisedthepeopleinvariouskindsofcivicorganisations.&
Butwecouldntlinkthingswithourpoliticalrhetoric.Wewerejustgoingaroundexplainingto
people what Resolution 435 means, what constitutions are, talking about concepts. But the
peoplesattitudewas, Youcanexplaintouswhatscientificsocialismis inrelationto!Swapos
constitution: nice, fine! We understand! There were even people who could recite the
constitution,orpartsofit!Butwearehungry!Andwesawpeoplereallygoinghungry,especially
thepoorest.Sowestartedtolookforsolutions.Westartedtoputpressureonthestate,andsome
otherbodies,andithelped.Themunicipalitybecameverycarefulaboutjustputtinguppricesany
more.&Icouldgiveyoudozensofexamples.
[&]sowewereforcedtocomedownfromtherhetorical,sectarianlevel,intothecommunity.The
expression,breadandbutterissues,enteredourvocabulary.Wedecidedthatifweweregoingto
have any meaningful change, any meaningful development, we must link up with the people
(citedinLeys&Brown,2005,p.91-92).
Itstartedtowardstheendof1983withmobilisationofurbanresidentassociations,suchasKARA,the
Katutura Residents Association. Their initial battles were with theWindhoekmunicipality around
water and electricity tariffs, and the cost of rentals of the township housing stock. Thismovement
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grew over the next few years to include both popular struggles with the administration, and
increasinglygrassrootsandself-helpstructures.
Studentsriseup
HighschoolanduniversitystudentshadplayedasignificantpartintheemergingNamibiannationalist
politicseversincetheearly1950swhenahandfulofyoungNamibiansstudiedinSouthAfricasince
there were no post-secondary educational institutions in Namibia at the time. They were the first
generationofNamibianstudentstopursuehighereducationandcamemostlyfromWindhoekandthe
Otjiherero-speakingreservesofcentralNamibia,wherethefirstsecondaryschoolsforblackstudents
hadbeenestablishedinthe1930sand1940swhileaslateas1958only30percentofblackNamibian
childrenwereinschool(Wallace,2011,p.247).
TheNamibianuniversitystudentswerestrongly influencedby thenewradicalmovements thathad
ariseninSouthAfricawiththerenewalof liberationpolitics fromthe1940s instigatedbytheANCs
younglionsaroundNelsonMandelaandWalterSisulu.TheSouthAfricanpoliticalset-upprovideda
model for for theNamibians political aspirations. TheANCsDefiance Campaign of the early fifties
particularlystirredthem,whenover8,000menandwomencourtedimprisonmentasaprotestagainst
unjustlaws.
The young Namibian intellectuals of the 1950s founded a succession of radically nationalist, anti-
ethnic organisations, though these bodies remained small and lacked wider influence. They
constituted an emerging intelligentsia, who developed links with nationalist ideologies and
organisations,includingthegroupofmigrantworkersinCapeTownaroundAndimbaToivoyaToivo,
with whom some of them had established personal links. Also important for shaping Namibian
nationalism in the 1950s were nationalist movements in other parts of the African continent,
especially the Ghanaian nationalism of Kwame Nkrumah (Emmett, 1990, p. 290). Among themost
important of the young intellectuals was Jairetundu Fanuel Kozonguizi, the president of the South
WestAfricaStudentBody(SWASB)foundedin1952.Laterinthedecadethisbodywassucceededby
the SouthWestAfrica ProgressiveAssociation (SWAPA)when the young intellectuals returned and
settled,mostlyinWindhoek.
Theurbanenvironmentgrewandprovideda fertilespace to transformresponses tocolonialism. In
cooperationwith theurbanpopulation theyounggraduatesgave shape tonew formsof resistance.
Theypresentedthemostradicalnationalistpoliticsatthetime;theychallengedthecolonialstateand
were highly critical of, even opposed to the indigenous leadership; yet exactly for that reason they
lacked influence, this was due, partly, to their contentious relations with the traditionalists of the
Herero Chiefs Council, whom they accused of being backward and pursuing tribalism (Emmett,
1999,p.291).FollowingthedevastatingrepressionoftheprotestsagainsttheremovalofWindhoeks
old location residents to the new townships of Katutura and Khomasdal though the radical urban
politicswerecrushed.
In the1970showeveryoung intellectualsandhighschool students inparticularhadbeena leading
radicalforceinblackNamibianpoliticsagainduringthebigcontractworkersstrikeanditsaftermath
intheearly1970s.In1976thegreatmajorityofblackhighschoolstudentsinthesouthernandcentral
regionsover1,000hadtakenpartinaboycottoftheend-of-the-yearexaminations.TheNamibian
studentsdeclared their dual aims: theydemandedan end toBantu education inNamibia, they also
made explicit that theywanted to express solidaritywith the studentprotests in SouthAfrica. Like
their predecessors of the 1950s, the Namibian student organisations of the 1970s were small and
loosely-knittedassociations.
This changed during themid-1980s due to socialmovement politics.When thousands ofNamibian
highschoolstudentsthroughoutthecountry,joinedlaterintheyearbythoseattendingtheAcademy
oftertiaryeducation(thepredecessoroftheUniversityofNamibia,UNAM)inWindhoek,cameoutfor
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amassive school boycott inMay1988 to demand thewithdrawal of armybases near schools, they
were organised already in a new, nationwide student organisation. TheNamibia National Students
Organisation (NANSO) was formed in June 1984 and became a leading force. NANSO spearheaded
many rallies andmarches in the last few years of South African rule over Namibia. Several youth
leaderswerearrestedandimprisonedfortheiractivism.
ThelateJohnLiebenbergsamazingphotographsofthevibrantprotestsagainstoccupationinthelate
1980sinvariablypointtothetremendoussignificanceofthestudentstruggles.Sometimestheywere
directly related to student issues, for instance, students challenged the Rector of the Academy
publiclyregardinghisacademiccredentials,asking:AreyouKoevoetorAcademicus?Studentsthus
called an institution in question that was still largely in cahoots with the apartheid colonial
dispensation.Otherstudentactivismwasevenmoreovertlyconnectedtobroaderpolitics, including
massive public rallies in Katutura on Cassinga Day andMay Day 1988, whichwere led by NANSO
activists.
Workersactivism
Ofequalsignificancetotheriseofthestudentmovementintheyearsbeforeindependencewerethe
revival of the labourmovement and the formation of radical nationalist trade unions. TheNational
UnionofNamibianWorkers(NUNW)hadofficiallybeenlaunchedin1970,yetithadbeendormantand
existentmostlyinofficialpronunciationsoftheexiledSWAPOleadership.
In themid-1980s workers were not really organised in Namibia, although reportedly remnants of
undergroundNUNWstructuresexisted.Inthemid-1980stwomovesweremadehoweverthatcame
together togiverise toapowerful thougheventuallyrathershort-lived labourmovement in the
dying days of apartheid colonialism. On the one hand there was the formation promoted by the
Robben Islanders, theNamibian political prisonerswhowere released from the prison island and
returned toNamibia in themid-1980s. In cooperationwith theSWAPOYouthLeague they setupa
WorkersSteeringCommitteeinearly1986(Peltola,1995,pp.202-3).
A parallel effort was made by social movement activists who were already active in community
organisations, including Lindi Kazombaue and Rosa Namises, and Vezera Bob Kandetu who was
workingwiththeCouncilofChurchesinNamibia(CCN).TheCCN,andsomeofitsmemberchurches,
playedatthetimeakeyroleintheurbansocialmovementpolitics.Thefollowingbriefexplorationsof
theworkersandwomensmovementsdemonstratetheclosepoliticalandinmanyinstancespersonal
connectionswithintheupsurgeofcommunityactivismandpopularprotests.The finaldiscussionof
themediaandcultureactivismcentredonBRICKSroundsthisupandwillbeclosedwithsomenotes
onthefinaldemiseofthevibranturbanmovementpoliticsbeforeNamibianindependence.
Inlate1984andearly1985socialworkersattheSocialWelfareUnitoftheCatholicChurch,together
with other community activists, founded theWorkersActionCommittee (WAC).RosaNamises and
LindiKazombaueweresocialworkersandcommunityorganiserswiththeRomanCatholicChurchin
Windhoekwhohadfoundthemselvesinundatedbyworkerscomplainingaboutproblemsinthework
place,includinglowwages,unfairdismissal,andnoleavearrangements,aswellastheirbroaderliving
conditions, inadequate housing and transport. Together with Kandetu at the CCN they turned for
consultation to church and trade union activists they knew in South Africa. Their first stepwas to
inviteagroupofworkerstheyknewtoaworkshopwithaSouthAfricanactivistexperiencedintrade
unionism,inordertodiscusshowbesttoaddresstheworkersplight.Thismeeting,inearly1985,was
attendedbyalmostonehundredpeople,fromtheretheWACwasfounded(Bauer,1998,pp.75-76).
AsoneofthefoundingWACmembers,RosaNamises,putit,theoriginalaimoftheWACwastocollect
information and educate workers about their rights. The activists at the time regarded this as a
communityprogrammeratherthanaclassicaltradeunionactivity(BRICKSVol.6,No.3July/August
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1990).Theseactivitiesoforganisinglabourwithinthecontextofcommunitymobilisationweresoon
merged,ifnotovertakenbyamoreexplicitlynationalistapproach.
Thefirstofthenewtradeunions,NAFAU(NamibianFoodandAlliedWorkersUnion)wasestablished
in September1986 through theWAC.Twomonths after the formationofNAFAU, theMineworkers
UnionofNamibia(MUN)wasestablished,andinearlyApril1987NUNWwasreconstituted.Thenew
Namibian workers movement had its first climax on May Day 1987, when about 10,000 workers
turned out for a massive rally in Katutura. By that time, the nationalist politics of the Robben
Islanders had become central to the unions. Ben Ulenga, a released Robben Island prisoner and
generallyregardedasakeyfigureoftheformationofthenewunions,whoplayedasignificantroleas
secretarygeneralofMUNemphasisedthenationalistorientationofthenewtradeunions:
&theNamibianworkerswerebornwithcolonialismandtheresolutionoftheirproblemscould
comeaboutwiththeresolutionofthecolonialproblem.Thoughheconcededthatthestruggleby
workers would go on beyond independence, he emphasised that it would never be achieved
withoutindependence(TheNamibian,22May1987)
Anindependentwomensmovement
Womenplayed a leading role in the 1980swave of community activism,whichwas partly built on
preexisting support networks of women as those responsible for the survival of families and
communities(Becker,1995).Someoftheleadingwomenactivistsbelongedtothestillsmallbutrising
numberofbettereducatedpeople,includingafewwhohadreturnedafterhavingcompletedstudiesin
SouthAfrica,theUnitedKingdom,andNorthAmerica.
Thecentralorganisationofwomenformedin1985duringtheheydayofcommunitymobilisationwas
theNamibianWomens Voice (NWV). TheNWVwas founded on the analysis that the conventional
politics of national liberation had little appeal to women because such politics did not address
womensdailyproblems.Theinitiativetotheformationhadcomefromsomeofthewomenwhowere
alreadyprominentlyactive invarious formsof communityorganization, andoftenworkedwith the
Christianchurches,whichwereassociatedwiththeCCN.AmongthosewomenwereLindiKazombaue
andRosaNamises,whosekeyroleintheresurrectionoflabourorganizationIalreadydiscussed.
One of the NWV founders reflected soon after independence on the political process ofmobilising
women in themid-1980s. Her analysis was similar to the one presented by Strauss regarding the
movementofcommunityorganisationsatlarge.Sheemphasisedhowevertheproblemsthataffected
poorblackwomenparticularly:
Youcanttellpeople,nowifyouarehungry,youjusthavetofightforindependence.[&]Soyou
cantcomewiththingsthatarenotreallyaffectingthewomenslives.IfyoutalkaboutResolution
435atthetime,thewomenknowthatithastobeforindependence.Buttheyknow,thepoweris
notwiththemtochangeit.[&]Butwomencouldbeorganisedaroundtheirownproblems.And
thosetheyhadenough!Andgetwomenwhowanttotalkabouttheirproblems.Andhowpolitics
affecttheirproblems.Thatishowwetriedtobringinpolitics:Whyareweinthisposition?Its
becauseofthisandthat(citedinBecker,1995,p.204).
TheNWV,therefore,setouttoaddressnotonlywomenspracticalgenderinterests(suchasearning
anincomeorsecuringchild-care),butalsotheirstrategicgenderinterestsandtheprojectofnational
liberation. They insisted that theirmain target group, grass-roots women in urban locations and
ruralareas,wereoppressedbecausetheywereblack,poorwomeninasituationmarkedbyawebof
racist-colonial domination, exploitation, and sexist subordination. The new womens organization
soonattracteda largemembership inWindhoekand the townsof southernand centralNamibiaas
well as some members in the emerging northern centres such as Oshakati. The NWV had some
branches in small towns and even villages but their focus of mobilisation was in urban Namibia,
particularlyinWindhoek.
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The starting point of both their ideology and political practice was the everyday experience of
impoverished Black Namibian women. This approach allowed for successful mobilisation of urban
women in particular. It also got them into trouble. The NWVs independent and women-focused
political orientation earned the wrath of both the colonial administration and the liberation
movement. The administration persecuted women activists for womens equality and Namibian
independence in similarways to those involved inother formsofpopular struggle.Moredamaging
though,especially inthe longrun,wastheoppositionoftheSWAPOWomensCouncil(SWC),which
becameactiveagaininsideNamibiainthesecondhalfofthe1980s.TheSWCwasparticularlyopposed
to the independentwomens organization,which they accused of dividing the nationalist liberation
strugglethroughaseparatistfeministwomensstruggle(TheNamibian,9December1988,citedin
Becker 1995, p. 221). In the end, the NWV succumbed to the pressure exerted by SWAPO and
dissolveditselfinMarch1989,whentheprocessleadingtoindependencewasalreadyunderway.
TheexperienceoftheNWVsuggeststhatanindependentgenderpoliticswasseenasathreatbythe
male-dominatedleadershipofthenationalistmovement.ItwasnotenoughfortheNWVactivistsand
other women involved in Namibian political and social struggles to claim to put the goal of the
countrysindependencefirst.AlthoughmostoftheleadingwomenactivistsweremembersofSWAPO,
theywere accused of feminism andwere chargedwith giving gender issues undue prioritywhile
neglectingthenationaliststruggle.
While thedominant liberationmovementsopposingstance to the independentwomensmovement
wasclearlygendered, theentiredriveofSWAPO-alignedyet independentcommunityorganisations,
including students, workers, and those engaging livelihoods and urban living conditions raised
suspicionamongtheSWAPOleadershipandeventherankandfile.
CulturalworkerslayingBRICKS
Anotherkeyprojectof thecommunityorganisations focusedondemocraticcommunication inprint,
art, theatre and video. This organisation was known as BRICKS and co-founded in 1984 by André
Strauss and Paul Vleermuis,whowere among the leading activistswho had come back toNamibia
after having been students atUWC andhad cut their teeth in communitymobilisation on the Cape
Flats.
The culture and media initiative provided an innovative approach in community mobilisation and
socialmovementpolitics. It facilitatedcreativeexpressionandpublicsamongtheurbanmajority. In
1984thecultureandmediaactivistsbeganpublishingacommunitynewspapertheynamedBRICKS.
BRICKSestablishedapublicforumforthetownshipresidentswhocouldreadandmakecontributions
tothepaper.Itwasnotjustaforumofasmallgroupofpoliticalactivists.Residentswroteaboutthe
everyday struggles of collective life in the townships. The paper also announced events in the
community.
WhenBRICKScameout,publishingacommunitynewspaperwasanovelty;however,as Idiscussed
above, there had been an earlier, by the 1980s largely forgotten, media initiative run by the
intelligentsia activists of the 1950s. Now available as a facsimile reprint, the Southwest News /
Suidwes Nuus (SWN), a short-lived alternative newspaper, was published in nine editions in
Windhoekin1960(Henrichsen1997).TheSWNwasthefirstNamibiannewspaperthatwaspublished
byAfricans.Thepaperfollowedcloselydevelopmentsinthesocialandpoliticallifeofblackurbanites
aswellastheenquiryintotheOldLocationshootingsofDecember1959.SimilartoBRICKSmorethan
twodecadeslater,theSWNreportedonovertlypoliticalissuesbutalsospoketo,andabout,thesocial
andculturalworldsinwhichthepoliticalactivismwasrooted.
TheBRICKScollectivedidnotstopwiththepublicationofacommunitynewspaper.Overthenexttwo
years, activities such as drama, poetry, oral history research and even vegetable growing as a
socioculturalprojectbroadenedthescopeoftheKatutura-basedorganisation(Becker,1995,p.183).
EventuallyBRICKScomprisedsixdifferentprojectsandplatforms.
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BRICKS became particularly significant as the lead actor in a nascent Namibian and particularly
Windhoekcommunitytheatremovement.By1986theculturalactivistshadestablishedatheatrewing
called Platform 2000, which until independence in 1990 emphasised resistance theatre in
oppositiontoapartheidcolonialismanditsNamibianstooges.Afterindependencethefocusshiftedto
theatreindevelopmentwithplaysontopicssuchasHIV/AIDS.Inthelater1980sBRICKS,ledbythe
energetic André Strauss, also connected with with Southern African regional and international
initiatives of similar orientation. Together with groups from countries such as Zimbabwe, the
Philippines and Latin American countries the Namibian cultural activists developed coherent
strategiesaroundmediaandculturalactivitiesincollaboration(Kerr&Chifunyise,2004,pp.204-05).
ThepublishingactivitypursuedbyBRICKSwasofficiallylegal.Theactivistshaddiscoveredaloophole
in the colonial media laws that allowed them to circumvent censorship; the law stipulated that a
publicationwasnotsubjecttostatecensorshipifitwaspublishedlessoftenthantwelvetimesayear.
However,aswiththeotheractivitiesofsocialmovementsandpopularprotest,theculturalresistance
projectclashedwiththeadministration.AndréStrausstoldofseveraltimeswhenhespentperiodsof
imprisonment in solitary confinement because of his prominent involvement in community
organisation. On several occasions, he and some of his comrades barely escaped being shot at by
police. Community activists received death threats as late as 1989, and some took serious mental
strain.Duringmyresearchintheearly1990s,Iheardcountlessstoriesofhowthesecuritypolicehad
deliberatelyintimidatedtheactivistsbybreaking,andsometimesjustforcefullywalkingintoproject
offices, confiscatingbooksandrecordswhile leavingmoneyandpersonalvaluablesuntouched. It is
worthwhile listening closely to Strausss recollection, which brilliantly expresses the innumerable
pressurestheyoung,university-educatedactivistsexperienced.Oftentheywerecaughtbetweenthe
harshpoliticalclimateandtheexpectationsoftheirfamilies:
Thepressurethatweworkedunderwasenormous.Wedidnthaveaccesstoanything.Wedidnt
haveaccesstomoneyfordevelopmentpurposes;wedidnthaveaccesstopremises.Manytimes,
gueststhatwehadfromabroadwereescortedoutofthecountrybythepolice,orwerestoppedat
theairport.Wewereunderconstantpressurefromthesecuritypolice.Wewerewhattheycalled
pimpernels; in and out all the time, moving through different communities, organising the
linkingupofbranches,workingwithdifferentcommunitiesallovertheplace.Aswewerequite
wellknown,especiallytothesecuritypolice,andthelocalpoliceandmunicipalpeopleandsoon,
Icouldntgetajob.Andwewereunderalotoffamilypressure.Ifyougotouniversityandgeta
degree,asIdid,myownextendedfamilyexpectedmetostarttoprovideandIneverdidthat!
Mywifewas justkeepingaroofoverus,andweweremoving fromhousetohouseall thetime
(citedinLeys&Brown,2005,p.94).
AUTHORITARIANISMANDNATIONALLIBERATION
Asthemobilisationofstudents,workers,womenandtownshipresidentassociationsbecamecrucialin
theinternalanti-colonialandanti-apartheidstruggleinNamibia,activistswereevermorefrequently
harassed by the security forces. Importantly, the regime used a double-barrelled approach in their
response to popular protest and community organisation. Repression was complemented by soft
tactics.Theadministrationeruditely setup fake communityprojects aspartof their Winning-the-
Hearts-and-Minds(WHAM)strategy.Thosewerestate-fundedinitiativesrunby localproxiesofthe
administration, whose activities, such as income-generating projects looked at a first glance
suspiciously similar to those started from within the movement of anti-colonial community
organisations.ThecolonialstatesWHAMtacticsthuscontributedtothepainfultensionsbetweenthe
communityactivistsandSWAPOandjeopardizedmuchoftheactivisminthelater1980s.
Adeeperlookrevealscrucialdifferencesthough.WhereastheWHAMeffortsweresponsoredbythe
administration, the anti-apartheid community-based organisations in many cases received
comparatively generous outside funding, for instance, from international church aid organisations.
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Theirpoliticsdifferedsharply.Many,infact:most,oftheleadingcommunityactivistsweremembers
of SWAPO; they clearly expressed their support of theUnitedNations SecurityCouncilsResolution
435 of 1978,which called for a ceasefire andUN-supervised elections as theway forward towards
Namibiaindependence.3
Nonetheless, theywere accused of undermining the nationalist struggle. The SWAPO leadership in
exile, and some though by no means all members of the organisations rather dormant internal
leadership, were particularly critical of community initiatives because those presumably promoted
development. SWAPO argued, any developmental efforts before independence would thwart the
politicsofnationalliberationandpromotetheeffortsoftheNamibian-basedinterimgovernmentto
winsupportandgainacceptancewithinthecountryaswellasinternationalrecognition.
Openstrategicdebatewashardlypossibleduetotherepressivesituationinthecountry.However,the
authoritarian power politics of the SWAPO hierarchies clearly contributed to the conflict. Rumour-
mongeringandsuspicionbecamerife.Communityactivistswere frequentlydenouncedas puppets,
thusequatingthemtothoseengagedintheSouthAfrican-sponsoredinternalgovernmentstructures.
The tensions reached a critical point in late 1985when a number of the leading urban activists in
Windhoekwere suspended from their SWAPOmembership rights; theywereno longer allowed for
instancetoattendmeetingsoftheirlocalSWAPObranches.AlthoughtheywerereadmittedtoSWAPO
sixmonthslater,thedamagehadbeendone.
WhenIinterviewedactivistssoonafterindependencein1990,thepainfulmemorieswerestillfresh.
Myinterlocutorswereconvincedthattheirsupposeddevelopmentactivitieswerenottherealreason
behind SWAPOs hostile stance towards community activism. They pointed to the fact that the
workersandstudentsmovementshadbeensubjectedtothesamehostilestancealthoughtheywere
not involved in developmentactivitiesbut focusedonstraight-forwardcampaignsandprotest.The
activists suggested that all independent progressive politics were perceived as threatening by the
SWAPOleadership,whichinsistedontotalcontrol.Theythusregardeditasamatterofdominanceand
powerpoliticswithinthedecolonisationmovement(Becker1995,pp.217-19).
TheirscepticalstanceofthemotivesbehindSWAPOshostilitytotheireffortswasplausible.Itwould
be inaccurate to claim that the tensions between SWAPO and the social movements were owed
primarily to the administrations crafty strategy.Rather, asmy interlocutors pointed out, the social
movement community activismwasmuch to the irritation of SWAPO,whichwas suspicious of any
effortsbeyonditscontrol.
The authoritarian politics of SWAPO, and the political subjectivities it instilledwere deeply infused
withsocialandideologicalmistrustoftheyounger,well-educated,urbanactivists.Tosomeextentthis
wasowedtotheirtransnationalentanglement.Manyofthesocialmovementactivistshaddeeproots
in the rebelliousBlackConsciousness ideologyof SASO, theSouthAfrican studentorganisation that
had been founded by Steve Biko and his comrades in 1968. Even if they were ideologically more
inclinedtowardstheANC-alignedSouthAfricanmovements,suchasthosethathadcometogetherin
theUnitedDemocraticFront(UDF),theyhadclosepolitical,culturalandbiographicallinkswithSouth
Africancommunitymovements,especiallyintheWesternCape.Thisaddedtothesuspicion.
3 On grounds of space, this paper does not allow for a detailed discussion of additional strands of even more complex community
development politics in 1980s Namibia. A small number of politically radical former SWAPO members, among them Ottilie and Kenneth
Abrahams, had returned to Namibia in 1978 after having been granted political amnesty at the beginning of the South African
administration attempts at an internal settlement for the South West Africa territory. They joined the campaign for internal elections for
a Constituent Assembly, which was a rather controversial move at the time when SWAPO called for a boycott of the internal elections.
While being part of this process and forming a new political party inside Namibia, known as the Namibia Independence Party (NIP), later
part of the Namibia National Front (NNF), they also founded critical initiatives in community development, and educational projects, such
as the Jacob Marengo Tutorial College, whose principal Ottilie Abrahams remained until her death in 2019 (Becker 2018).
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The authoritarianism of the established liberation movement was particularly pronounced in the
attemptsofpatriarchalcontrolofthewomensmovement.Thiswasexemplifiedintheexperienceof
the women activists engaged in the Namibian Womens Voice. The insistently independent and
women-focusedapproachoftheNWV(affectionatelyreferredtoastheVoice)earneditnotonlythe
colonialadministrations,butalsoSWAPOswrath.Itwasntsimplyamatterofamale-femaleconflict.
AsIpointedoutabove,SWAPOwomenhadadeeplyproblematicpartinthis.
Whilethewomensorganisationborethebruntoftheconflict,theexiledSWAPOleadership,andsome
of the internal SWAPO felt threatened by the entire community-based movement due to the
community activists insistence on an non-sectarian grassroots orientation towards the fight for
politicalindependence.
CONCLUSION
Thecommunityactivismofthelate1980shadhelpedtoundermineSouthAfricanruleoverNamibia.
However, forseveral reasons,Namibiancivil societywasnotveryrobustand largely faltered in the
yearsafterindependence.Ontheonehandthiswasowedinparttothehistoryoftensionsbetween
SWAPO and the community organizations. Co-optation furtherweakened civil society organisations
when a number of leading activists were recruited into senior positions in the civil service after
independence. In a number of instances, the activists-turned-civil servants achieved progressive
developments.Forinstance,inthe1990spostcolonialNamibiacouldcertainlybecountedasarelative
successstoryintermsofgenderequality.
However, there were definite limitations to liberation. Particularly during the Nujoma presidency
(19902005) the postcolonial state regularly resisted presumed hidden agendas of certain civil
society initiatives, which revealed authoritarianism and a deep-seated social and cultural
conservatism.TheNamibianWomensManifesto,forinstance,anattemptin1999tobringtogethera
coalition to push for increased representation ofwomen in the political sphere,was denounced as
deflecting from gender equality because some of themanifestos proponentswere known for their
advocacyagainstdiscriminationonthegroundsofsexualorientation(Akawa,2014,pp.184;192).
The local and global worlds of the 21st century have seen profound change, which is faced by
Namibias young social movements. There can be no doubt that over the past few years the post-
independencelullofcivilsocietyactivismhasbeenreplacedbyanewvibrancy.Thepopularpoliticsof
youngmovementssuchastheLandlessPeoplesMovement(LPM)andAffirmativeRepositioning(AR)
areengagingNamibiaatanewcrossroads.Recently,anewgenerationofNamibianactivistshasgiven
decidedlylocalexpressiontoglobalmovementpoliticssuchastheGlobalClimateStrikein2019,and
Black Lives Matter in 2020. One fascinating development is owed to an engaging vibrant scene of
youngartistsintheperformingaswellasthevisualarts,whotakeuppressingconcernsintheirworks
andcometogether inpulsatingeventssuchasthe2019OwelaFestival.Youngactivistsandactivist-
researchershavealsobecomeactiveinlong-standinggrassrootspoliticssuchasthemembersofthe
NamibiaHousingActionGroup(NHAG)andtheShackDwellersFederationofNamibia(SDFN).Some
of thosewereparticipatedandmadebrilliant interventionsduring the seminaratNUSTwhere this
paper was presented. Many of the young activists are urbanites and often thinking deeply about
writing urban spaces (cf. Tjirera 2019). All these activist and artistic initiatives are part of the
essentialconversationsabout theNamibianpast,presentand future:Howdothevariousstrandsof
activismandtheartsimagineNamibiaastheirproject?Itismysincerehopethatthispaperandthe
historical reflections on earlier chapters of Namibian urban social, political and culturalmovement
politicsmakeatinycontribution.
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 16
REFERENCES
Secondarysources:
Akawa,Martha.2014.TheGenderPoliticsoftheNamibianLiberationStruggle.Basel:BaslerAfrika
Bibliographien.
Bauer,Gretchen.1998.LabourandDemocracyinNamibia,1971-1996.Athens:OhioUniversityPress.
Becker,Heike.1995.NamibianWomen'sMovement1980to1992.FromAnticolonialStruggleto
Reconstruction.Frankfurt(Germany):IKO-VerlagfürinterkulturelleKommunikation.
Becker,Heike.2011.CommemoratingheroesinWindhoekandEenhana:Memory,cultureand
nationalisminNamibia,1990-2010.Africa.JournaloftheInternationalAfricanInstitute81(4):519-43.
Becker,Heike.2018.TributetoOttilieSchimmingAbrahams(2Sept1937-1July2018)somenotes
andmemories.SouthAfricanHistoryOnline.
Becker,Heike.2019.WomeninNamibia.OxfordResearchEncyclopediaofAfricanHistory.Oxford:
OxfordUniversityPress.
Emmett,Tony.1999.PopularResistanceandtheRootsofNationalisminNamibia,1915-1966.Basel:
SchlettweinPubl.
Henrichsen,Dag.1997.AGlanceatOurAfrica:ThehistoryandcontentsofSouthWestNews,in:Dag
Henrichsen,(ed.),AGlanceAtOurAfrica:FacsimilereprintofSouthWestNewsSuidwesNuus1960,pp.
13-44.Basel,BaslerAfrikaBibliographien.
Jafta,Milly;NickyKautja,MagdaOliphant,DawnRidgway,KapofiShipingana,UssielTjiendaand
GersonVeii.1999.AnInvestigationoftheShootingattheOldLocationon10December1959.(ed.)
BrigitteLau,2ndedition,Windhoek:NamibiaHistoryTrust.
Kerr,David;withStephenChifunyise.2004.SouthernAfrica,inMartinBanham.(ed.),AHistoryof
TheatreinAfrica.CambridgeUniversityPress.
Kössler,Reinhart.2007.FacingaFragmentedPast:Memory,cultureandpoliticsinNamibia.Journalof
SouthernAfricanStudies33(2):361-82.
Leys,Colin;SusanBrown.2005.HistoriesofNamibia:Livingthroughtheliberationstruggle.Life
historiestoldtoColinLeysandSusanBrown,London:TheMerlinPress.
Peltola,Pekka.1995.TheLostMayDay:NamibianWorkersStruggleforIndependence.Helsinki:Finnish
AnthropologicalSociety.
Strauss,André.1987.CommunityOrganisationsinNamibia.InNamibiainPerspective,(eds.),
GerhardTötemeyer,VezeraKandetuandWolfgangWerner.Windhoek:CouncilofChurchesin
Namibia,184-95.
Tjirera,Ellison.2019.WritingWindhoekmultiplerepresentationsofthecity.Johannesburg:University
oftheWitwatersrand(PhDdissertationinSociology).
Wallace,Marion.2011.(withJohnKinahan).AHistoryofNamibia.FromtheBeginningto1990.
Johannesburg:Jacana.
Newspapers:Informante,TheNamibian,BRICKS
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 17
REVIEW
Ienjoyedreadingthiswork.Itfillsagapandinvitesfurtherengagementaroundsocialmovementsand
popularstrugglesinNamibiaduringapartheidandshortlyafterindependence.Italsotriggerscritical
inquirybeyondthisperiod.Thisgapinlocalscholarshipisevenevidentinthepost-apartheidcontext,
forexample,we lack critical inquiry into thevariousphasesandpracticesofprotest and resistance
cultures in the last three decades. Therefore, this paper provides interesting insights into the
intersectinganti-apartheidwork,especiallyinthe80s.
Prof. Becker is right when she points out that we (contemporary youth activists) know very little
about urban struggles during apartheid. She reflects on the recent rise of social movements in
Namibia,notingthesignificanceoflookingbackatoursharedandtrans-nationalhistoriesofpopular
urbanrevolt.Hencereading thispaper,onegetsasenseabout thecomplexdynamics in theactivist
work of young scholars, women, intellectuals, social and cultural workers, churches, media and
politicalorganizations. Igotasenseofwhat itmeanttoorganizeundertherepressiveconditionsof
apartheidandtheinternaltensionofdoingfeministworkunderSwapo(bothduringapartheidandin
thenewdispensation).
The paper includes personal anecdotes of being a researcher arriving and working in the newly
independentNamibia.Itaccountsandnarratestheexperiencesofpost-apartheidelation,atimewhich
many Namibians were excited about the prospects of a new democracy. Becker also poses the
followingquestionsregardingpopularSouthAfricanmusic thatwaswidelyplayedduring this time.
Shewrites:
Why would those activists who had fought energetically for independence from Namibias
powerfulsouthernneighbourandformercolonizerlistenenthusiasticallytoSouthAfricanmusic?
Inotherwords,howdiditcomeaboutthattheNamibianactivistsappearedheavilyinfluencedby
SouthAfricanpopulartastesinmusic?
Letmeattempttoanswerpartsofthesequestions.Iargueforcomplexitywhenengagingwithwhat
werefertoasSouthAfricanmusic(byBlackartists)becauseitismorethanjustSouthAfricanmusic.
Although it is produced in South African contexts, its genealogies can be traced elsewhere on the
African continent. Therefore, we resonate with this sonic. When I hear Brenda Fassie and Yvonne
ChakaChakasmusicwhomIgrewuplisteningtoinKatutura,IdonotjusthearSouthAfrica,Ihear
pan-Africana imaginaries, solidarity and shared struggles. We can expand on this argument by
referring to ANC struggle music in exile or Strike Vilakazi recording with Namibian musicians at
SWABCstudio in the1970s). Soundcirculatedby itsnatureofborderlessnessanduniversality, and
thisishowitwasmutuallyinfluenced.
Hence,thepapermissestheopportunitytorefertotherangeoflocalmusicalpracticesthatplayeda
big role in socialmovements and popular struggles during apartheid. Apart from the Original Jazz
Masters which the paper refers to, there weremany othermusical ensembles that performed live
music inmanyNamibian towns.This includesbands suchas theUglyCreatures,#Kharixurob,Outjo
Singers, The Rocking Kwela Boys, The Chiquitos, to name a few. Most of this music remained
underground,evenafter independence. Idwellonmusicherebecausea lotof localpopular culture
havesufferederasureandmarginalization,eveninNamibianhistoriographyofthepeoplesstruggles
andsocialmovements.
Thenotionofmutual influencedeservesmoreunpacking to showhow ideasadconcepts circulated
through the work and mobilities of African intellectuals. This will help us unpack much of the
complexitiesandtensionsthatthepaperalreadypointsto.ReadingaboutthetensionsbetweenSwapo
and other internal anti-apartheid groups is interesting. This reminds me of the tensions between
youth/studentactivists inside thecountryandthosecoming fromSouthAfricae.g. theUniversityof
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 18
WesternCape.Dr.YvetteAbrahamswroteaboutthesetensionsalreadyin1983inherdiscussionof
theemergenceofaNamibianstudentmovement.
Aswespeakback to thesilencesanderasure in thehistoriographyofurbansocialmovements, it is
importanttospeakbeyondtheWindhoekexperiencewhenwewriteaboutNamibianurbanity.Ifound
thispaperratherlimitedtoWindhoekwhenthegeo-politicsofsocialmovementswereentangledand
trans-local, asmuch as theywere trans-national. Again, popular cultureswould have been ideal to
drawfromhere.
Speakingofmutualinfluence,IrecalloneexamplethatProf.Beckersharedwithmewhenweoncerun
intoeachotherduringourwalksattheLiesbeekriverinCapeTown.Thisisthestoryofhowthe1971
contractlabourstrikealsoinfluencedworkersinSouthAfricatoorganizeagainstthecontractlabour
system.Thisisagoodexampleofmutualinfluencesbetweenthetwocountries.Iwouldhaveloveto
readaboutthistoo.
WhathappenedtoBRICKS?Whatledtoitsdissolvinginpost-apartheidNamibia?Whatdoesthistell
usaboutcivilsocietyandactivisminthelastthreedecadesofNamibiandemocracy?Whatdoesthis
tell us about the intergenerational dynamics relating to the continuity of social movements and
popularculturepost-1990?Thesearethekindsofquestionsthatthispaperhasunearthedforme.Asa
Namibianscholarofperformancestudies,itissignificanttoengagewiththesequestionsbecausearts,
cultureandheritageeducationhasbeendepoliticizedanddemobilizedinthelastthreedecades.We
mustdaretorespondtothisaswere-encounterthedecolonialturn.Thispaperiscriticallyusefulin
thehereandnow.Thankyou,ProfBecker.
Hereisanextendedreadinglist:
1. Olivier-Sampson,L.2016.Ananalysisofpolicies,practicesandtrendsinNamibiantheatreinthe
late20thcentury,withspecificemphasisontheworkofbricks,FrederickPhilanderandAldo
Behrens.PhDThesis,UniversityofNamibia,unpublished.
2. Heuva,W,E.1996.TheAlternativePressinNamibia1960-1990.MAthesis,Unpublished.
UniversityofRhodes.
3. Abrahams,Yvette.1983.TheEmergenceofaNamibianStudentMovement.IntheNamibian
Review:AJournalofContemporarySouthWestAfricanAffairs.AprilJune1983,Issue28.
4. Melber,H.2019.Popculture:restoringNamibiasforgottenresistancemusic.Accessedon
2020/03/06fromhttp://theconversation.com/pop-culture-restoring-namibias-forgotten-
resistance-music-128008
NashilongweshipweMushaandja
PhDscholar
CentreforTheatre,DanceandPerformanceStudies
UniversityofCapeTown
RESPONSE
Ihavereallyenjoyedreadingthisengagingreviewofmypaper.ThankyouverymuchMushaandjafor
closereadingandtremendouslyinsightfulcomments!
Therevieweraccuratelyidentifiessomeomissionsandindeedgapsinmypaper.Theseare, if Iread
hiscommentscorrectly,ontheonehandrelatedtoalackofin-depthengagementwiththehistoryof
Namibianmusicand,ontheotherhand,aestheticandperformativedimensionsofPan-Africanculture.
BECKER Ruptures and continuities of struggle: social movements and popular struggles in urban Namibia, 1980s
ILMI Working Paper No. 11 Page 19
The reviewer rightlypoints to someof the earlierpopularmusicians inpre-independenceNamibia,
whowerehowevermostlyforgottenaroundthetimeofindependence.Certainlytheirmusicwasnot
availableinrecordstores,ontheairwaves,oreveninliveperformances.Recentprojectssuchasthe
StolenMomentsNamibianMusicHistoryUntold archival researchandexhibitionofphotographs
andrecordingsarenowimportantlyrectifyingthisblindspot.
I am intrigued by the reviewers comments about the Pan-African sonic aesthetics that rendered
certainSouthAfricanmusiciansattractivetoNamibians.Thisimportantcommentpointsouttheneed
to look deeper into transnational and Pan-African connections of the politics of decolonization and
popularculture.
Finally, Iam incredibly thankful that thereview identifiessomekeychallenges for furtherresearch.
Mushaandja raises important questions regarding the trajectories and legacy of cultural resistance
projects such as BRICKS. These questions featured also prominently during the seminar discussion
whereIpresentedthepaperatNUSTearlierthisyear. I feel that itwouldbewonderful ifNamibian
researchers could take this up in interdisciplinary research perspectives that combine social,
historical,aestheticandperformativeaspects.
Itmakesmehappythatmylittlepaperhasraisedquestionsandbroughtupsuggestionsthisismore
importanttomethanprovidinganswers...
HeikeBecker
DepartmentofAnthropology,
UniversityoftheWesternCape
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