Churches and Political Reconciliation in Post-Apartheid Namibia
Nico Horn Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Namibia was a deeply divided country when it became independent on 21 March 1990. Brother fought against brother, one a part of the Peoples Liberation Army, the military wing of the major liberation movement, South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), the other as a member of the notorious Koevoet (Sledgehammer), a counter-insurgency section of the South African controlled police force.
The churches made a choice, more often than not based on color, either for SWAPO or for the oppressive South African regime. The dominant white churches (all the Afrikaans speaking churches) supported the government of the day; their sons were conscripts in the South African Defense Force (SADF) and the South West African Territorial Force (SWATF). The member churches of the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) supported the armed struggle; their sons went into exile to take up arms against the colonial government and their pastors ministered to their members in exile.
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