SWAPO

SWAPO Party of Namibia South West Africa People's Organisation
Abbreviation	SWAPO
President	Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah
Vice President	Vacant
Secretary-General	Sophia Shaningwa
Vice Secretary-General	Nangolo Mbumba
Founders	Andimba Toivo ya Toivo Sam Nujoma Jacob Kuhangua Louis Nelengani Lucas Nepela
Founded	19 April 1960; 64 years ago (1960-04-19)
Preceded by	Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO)
Headquarters	Erf 2464 Hans-Dietrich Genscher Street Katutura Windhoek Khomas Region
Newspaper	Namibia Today (1960–2015)
Youth wing	SWAPO Party Youth League
Paramilitary wing	People's Liberation Army of Namibia (until 1990)
Ideology	Since 2017: Socialism[1][2][3][4] 1990–2017: Social democracy[4][5] Statism[6] 1960–1990: Marxism–Leninism[7][8]
Political position	Centre-left to left-wing
International affiliation	Socialist International
African affiliation	Former Liberation Movements of Southern Africa
Colours	Red (primary)     Blue, Green (secondary)
National Assembly	63 / 96
National Council	28 / 42
Regional Councils	88 / 121
Local Councils	277 / 378
Pan-African Parliament	4 / 5
Party flag
Website
www.swapo-party.org
Politics of Namibia Political parties Elections

Politics of Namibia
Constitution Constituent Assembly
Executive President Nangolo Mbumba Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa Cabinet
Legislature National Council Chairman: Bernard Sibalatani National Assembly Speaker: Peter Katjavivi
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice: Peter Shivute
Administrative divisions Regions Constituencies
Elections Recent elections General: 2014 2019 2024 Regional: 2010 2015 2020 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (list) Diplomatic missions of / in Namibia Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
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The South West Africa People's Organisation (/ˈswɑːpoʊ/, SWAPO; Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; German: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group.

SWAPO held a two-thirds majority in parliament from 1994 to 2019. In the general election held in November 2019, the party won 65.5% of the popular vote and 63 out of the 104 seats in the National Assembly. It also holds 28 out of the 42 seats in the National Council. From November 2017 until his death in February 2024, Namibian President Hage Geingob remained the president of SWAPO after being elected to the position at the party's electoral congress.^[9]

German South West Africa was established in 1884. After World War I, the League of Nations gave South West Africa, formerly a German colony, to the United Kingdom as a mandate under the administration of South Africa.^[10] When the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa and subsequently introduced apartheid legislation,^[11] these laws were applied as well to South West Africa. It was considered the de facto fifth province of South Africa.^[12]

SWAPO was founded on 19 April 1960 as the successor of the Ovamboland People's Organization. Leaders renamed the party to show that it represented all Namibians. But, the organisation had its base among the Ovambo people of northern Namibia, who constituted nearly half the total population.^[13]

During 1962, SWAPO had emerged as the dominant nationalist organisation for the Namibian people. It co-opted other groups such as the South West Africa National Union (SWANU), and later in 1976 the Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation.^[14] SWAPO used guerrilla tactics to fight the South African Defence Force. On 26 August 1966, the first major clash of the conflict took place, when a unit of the South African Police, supported by the South African Air Force, exchanged fire with SWAPO forces. This date is generally regarded as the start of what became known in South Africa as the Border War.

One important factor in the fight for independence was the 1971-72 Namibian contract workers strike, which fought for the elimination of the contract labor system and independence from South Africa. An underlying goal was the promotion of independence under SWAPO leadership.^[15][16]

In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly recognised SWAPO as the 'sole legitimate representative' of Namibia's people.^[17] The Norwegian government began giving aid directly to SWAPO in 1974.^[18]

The country of Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975 following its war for independence. The leftist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union, came to power. In March 1976, the MPLA offered SWAPO bases in Angola for launching attacks against the South African military.^{[citation needed]}

When Namibia gained its independence in 1990, SWAPO became the dominant political party. Though the organisation rejected the term South West Africa and preferred to use Namibia, the organisation's original name—derived from the territory's old name—was too deeply rooted in the independence movement to be changed. However, the original full name is no longer used; only the acronym remains.^[13] SWAPO, and with it much of Namibia's government and administration, continues to be dominated by the Ovambo ethnic group, despite "considerable efforts to counter [that] perception".^[19]

SWAPO president Sam Nujoma was declared Namibia's first President after SWAPO won the inaugural election in 1989. A decade later, Nujoma had the constitution changed so he could run for a third term in 1999, as it limits the presidency to two terms.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, the SWAPO presidential candidate was Hifikepunye Pohamba, described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor.^[20][21] In 2014, the SWAPO presidential candidate was Hage Geingob, who was the vice-president of SWAPO. In 2019 presidential election, president Geingob won his second five-year term as Namibian president.^[22]

SWAPO was founded with the aim of attaining the independence of Namibia and therefore is part of the African nationalist movement. Pre-independence it harboured a socialist,^[4] Marxist–Leninist^[8] ideology, a thinking that was not immediately abandoned when independence was achieved in 1990 and SWAPO became the ruling party.^[23] Officially, however, it adopted a social democratic ideology, until the electoral congress in 2017 approved the official change to socialism with a "Namibian character",^[3] although some Namibians have labeled the change as lacking a "grass-roots" nature.^[24]

Various commentators have characterised the politics of SWAPO in different ways. Gerhard Tötemeyer, himself a party member, considers its post-independence politics neoliberal and social democratic.^[4] Henny Seibeb, an opposition politician from the Landless People's Movement, describes the current party ideology as liberal nationalism with traces of "dogmatism, authoritarianism, and statism".^[25]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2024)

The party president is the top position of SWAPO; in 2012 this was held by Namibia's former president Pohamba. The vice-president was Namibia's former president Hage Geingob, who was elected to that position in 2007 and reconfirmed at the SWAPO congress in December 2012, until his death on 4 February 2024. The third highest position in SWAPO is the secretary-general, a position held in December 2012 by Nangolo Mbumba. Number four is the deputy secretary-general, Omaheke governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua.^[26]

Like many socialist and communist parties, SWAPO is governed by a politburo and a central committee. The party leadership is advised by a youth league, a women's council, and an elders' council.^{[citation needed]}

The politburo of SWAPO is a body that currently^[update] consists of:^[27]

• The party president: vacant
• The former party president: Hifikepunye Pohamba
• The secretary-general: Sophia Shaningwa
• The deputy secretary-general: Marco Hausiku
• 2 members appointed by the party president
• 18 members elected by the SWAPO central committee:^[28]

SWAPO's Central Committee consists of:

• The president
• The vice-president
• The secretary-general
• The deputy secretary-general
• The founding president of SWAPO as a permanent member
• 13 SWAPO Party regional coordinators
• 54 members elected at the party congress
• 10 members appointed by the party president

The current^[update] members are:^[29][30]

• Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (ex officio, SWAPO Vice-president)
• Sophia Shaningwa (ex officio, SWAPO Secretary-General)
• Marco Hausiku (ex officio, SWAPO Deputy Secretary-General)
• Sam Nujoma (ex officio SWAPO founding President)
• Hifikepunye Pohamba (ex officio SWAPO former president)

Elected members:

President-appointed members (2017):^[27]

• Sam Nujoma (1960–2007)
• Hifikepunye Pohamba (2007–2015)
• Hage Geingob (2015–2024)

Although SWAPO receives finances from government for its operations, the party also holds extensive business interests. Through Kalahari Holdings, it entered into joint ventures with several companies, most prominently the Namibian branch of MultiChoice, a private satellite TV provider, of which it owns 51%. Kalahari Holdings has further joint ventures with Radio Energy, Africa Online, and businesses in the tourism, farming, security services and health insurance sectors. It owns Namib Contract Haulage, Namprint, Kudu Investments and the Ndilimani Cultural Troupe.^[31][32]

Namibia Today was the mouthpiece of the SWAPO,^[33] and Asser Ntinda was its editor. The paper does not appear to have been active since 7 April 2011^[34] and closed down in 2015.^[35]

Various groups have claimed that SWAPO committed serious human rights abuses against suspected spies during the independence struggle. Since the early 21st century, they have pressed the government more strongly on this issue. Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS) is one of the groups founded by people who were detained by SWAPO during the war and abused during interrogations.^[36][37] In 2004, BWS alleged that "In exile, hundreds of SWAPO dependants and members were detained, tortured and killed without trial."^[38] SWAPO denies serious infractions and claims anything that did happen was in the name of liberation. Because of a series of successful South African raids, the SWAPO leadership believed that spies existed in the movement. Hundreds of SWAPO cadres were imprisoned, tortured and interrogated.^[39]

In 2005, the P.E.A.C.E. Centre (People's Education, Assistance and Counselling for Empowerment) conducted an extensive study on the lives of Namibian ex-fighters and their families fifteen years after Independence. Their published ebook investigates the post-independence lives of those who fought on both sides of the Namibian War of Independence. Data from this research indicate that ex-fighters still^[update] exhibit symptoms of long-term post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings indicate there is a correlation between the life circumstances of ex-fighters and their lack of resilience to traumatic war experiences. Resiliency has been linked to a number of protective factors, such as the socio-economic situation of the survivors, their socio-political environment, their social support networks, and their cognitive processes.^[40]

The study says that, in the case of Namibian ex-fighters, long-term psychological distress is different from a simple PTSD diagnosis. The survivors have almost invariably gone for nearly two decades without seeking treatment, adding to their burdens. During this time, the ex-fighters have been exposed to additional social and psychological stressors through life events. For a person without PTSD, such stressors may have fleeting effects, but for a sufferer of long-term psychological distress, each life incident could reduce the survivor's resilience to trauma, as well as triggering "flashbacks" to events during the war.^[40]

SWAPO is a full member of Socialist International.^[41] It was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement before the independence of Namibia in 1990.^[42]

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
1994	Sam Nujoma	370,452	76.34%	Elected Y
1999		414,096	76.82%	Elected Y
2004	Hifikepunye Pohamba	625,605	76.45%	Elected Y
2009		611,241	75.25%	Elected Y
2014	Hage Geingob	772,528	86.73%	Elected Y
2019		464,703	56.3%	Elected Y
2024

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Result
1989	Sam Nujoma	384,567	57.33%	41 / 72	41	1st	Majority government
1994		370,452	76.34%	53 / 72	12	1st	Supermajority government
1999		414,096	76.82%	55 / 78	2	1st	Supermajority government
2004		625,605	76.44%	55 / 78		1st	Supermajority government
2009	Hifikepunye Pohamba	611,241	75.25%	54 / 72	1	1st	Supermajority government
2014		785,671	86.73%	77 / 96	23	1st	Supermajority government
2019	Hage Geingob	536,861	65.45%	63 / 96	14	1st	Majority government
2024				0 / 96

Election	Seats	+/–	Position	Result
1992	19 / 26	19	1st	Governing supermajority
1998	21 / 26	2	1st	Governing supermajority
2004	24 / 26	3	1st	Governing supermajority
2010	24 / 26		1st	Governing supermajority
2015	40 / 42	16	1st	Governing supermajority
2020	28 / 42	12	1st	Governing supermajority

• People's Liberation Army of Namibia
• Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation
• Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
• South African Border War
• South West Africa National Union
• SWAPO for Justice
• Andimba Toivo ya Toivo
• 1971-72 Namibian contract workers strike
• Namibian Czechs

• Official website
• Example SWAPO Party Youth League web page. "Latest from the SPYL Frontlines". spyl.org. SWAPO Party Youth League. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2024.

• Johns, Michael (5 November 1989). "Namibian Voters Deny Total Power to SWAPO. [Reprint]". barrysgovsites.blogspot.com. The Wall Street Journal, original publisher. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
• van der Hoog, Tycho (June 2022). "A New Chapter in Namibian History: Reflections on Archival Research". History in Africa. 49. Cambridge University Press: 389–414. doi:10.1017/hia.2021.12. hdl:1887/3303534. Retrieved 7 November 2024. An explainer of existing archives on SWAPO.