À partir de XXᵉ siècle
Namibia and Angola
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
SWAPO’s Security Organisation was established in 1981 under Solomon Hawala and became responsible for detaining and torturing members accused of spying for South Africa. Its practices expanded during the 1980s, producing a serious internal crisis within SWAPO and damaging the movement’s public standing during the 1989 independence election campaign.
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Le récit
The pressures of the final decade of the war contributed to an escalation of human-rights violations within SWAPO. The movement detained and tortured hundreds, and possibly thousands, of its own members, accusing them of spying for South Africa. These detentions were carried out by a new Security Organisation established in 1981 under ‘Jesus’ Solomon Hawala.
Hundreds of detainees were imprisoned in dungeons in Lubango, Angola, where some died because of harsh conditions. Survivors described beatings, confinement and threats of execution. Torture also produced video ‘confessions’ from many detainees, demonstrating how the security apparatus combined physical coercion with the production of incriminating evidence.
The Security Organisation became increasingly difficult for SWAPO’s leadership to control during the 1980s. Educated people and non-Oshiwambo speakers were especially targeted, suggesting that internal political and social divisions shaped the repression. Even President Sam Nujoma’s authority was questioned when his wife was detained for several weeks in 1988.
By the 1989 independence election campaign, the scale of SWAPO’s detention and torture of its own members had become widely known. A Parents’ Committee demanded justice for detainees, while one SWAPO leader condemned torture and acknowledged that not all detainees had been spies.
À partir de XXᵉ siècle
Namibia and Angola
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
SWAPO’s Security Organisation was established in 1981 under Solomon Hawala and became responsible for detaining and torturing members accused of spying for South Africa. Its practices expanded during the 1980s, producing a serious internal crisis within SWAPO and damaging the movement’s public standing during the 1989 independence election campaign.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The pressures of the final decade of the war contributed to an escalation of human-rights violations within SWAPO. The movement detained and tortured hundreds, and possibly thousands, of its own members, accusing them of spying for South Africa. These detentions were carried out by a new Security Organisation established in 1981 under ‘Jesus’ Solomon Hawala.
Hundreds of detainees were imprisoned in dungeons in Lubango, Angola, where some died because of harsh conditions. Survivors described beatings, confinement and threats of execution. Torture also produced video ‘confessions’ from many detainees, demonstrating how the security apparatus combined physical coercion with the production of incriminating evidence.
The Security Organisation became increasingly difficult for SWAPO’s leadership to control during the 1980s. Educated people and non-Oshiwambo speakers were especially targeted, suggesting that internal political and social divisions shaped the repression. Even President Sam Nujoma’s authority was questioned when his wife was detained for several weeks in 1988.
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