Erasmus Shalihaxwe
The president of the Republican Party (RP), Henk Mudge recently claimed that the apartheid South African government did not fight Swapo during Namibia’s liberation struggle but opposed the communist system Swapo leader Sam Nujoma aimed to implement.
Mudge made these remarks during an interview with Hennock TV, an online show focusing on African politics, culture, and the environment.
“Nujoma made a lot of mistakes before and after independence. Some of those mistakes included allowing himself and other Swapo leaders to be influenced by communist countries like Cuba, Russia, China, and East Germany during the liberation struggle,” Mudge said.
He argued that this communist influence led the apartheid government to attempt to stop Swapo through negotiations rather than war.
“In 1972, President Nujoma said they were not interested in a democratic solution. They wanted to take Namibia by force. You must remember, in the beginning, they were a communist party. They were outspoken communists with Russian, Cuban, and East German influence, but that changed later on,” Mudge explained.
Mudge also mentioned that Swapo was invited to the Turnhalle Conference in 1976 to discuss elections and pave the way for independence.
According to him, Swapo leaders declined, knowing they would not win.
“If they were so serious about Namibia becoming independent, they could have been part of the election. That was an opportunity for them, but they didn’t want to,” said Mudge.
He added that thousands of lives could have been saved had they taken part in that election, which the DTA (now the Popular Democratic Movement) won.
Mudge added that Namibians who joined the South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) and Koevoet, fighting alongside the apartheid regime, were not necessarily opposing Swapo but resisting communist influence in Namibia.
“One thing South Africa did not want was a communist regime in Namibia. That is why they fought, and that is why many Namibians joined the SWATF forces. They fought against a communist system, not against their own brothers and sisters on the other side. It’s because there were many Germans, Russians, and Cubans involved in the fight, even on the battlefield as soldiers,” Mudge said.
Nujoma, the first democratically elected president of Namibia, died on 08 February and will be laid to rest on 1 March.
