Namibia - political parties

Last modified: 2001-12-21 by jarig bakker
Keywords: namibia | turnhalle | swapo | swanu | cod |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

• SWAPO (South West African People's Organization)
• SWANU (South West Africa National Union)
• Congress of Democrats (COD)
• Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA)
• Caprivi Liberation Army

• Namibia
• Namibia: index of all pages

SWAPO (South West African People's Organization)

The Dorling Kindersley 'Flags of the World' says that the Namibian flag combines the colours of the SWAPO flag with that of the second largest party, the DTA.
I know that SWAPO used a blue-red-green horizontal tricolour during the independence struggle, but what was the DTA flag?
Vincent Morley, 19 Feb 1998

SWANU (South West Africa National Union)

There was another liberation movement called SWANU, with a similar flag. Anyone knows that flag?
Mark Sensen, 10 Aug 1999

I think it was absorbed in the early '80s. According to the Danish encyclopedia, SWANU was established in 1959 and
SWAPO in 1960.
Ole Andersen, 14 Aug 1999

The flag of SWANU (South West Africa National Union) was very similar to that of SWAPO (South West Africa
People's Organisation) in that it also comprised the three horizontal stripes of blue, red and green.  In the case of SWANU, two narrow gold stripes separated the blue, red and green from one another. The SWANU flag was thus blue, gold, red, gold and green  stripes in the same construction format as the current flag of Gambia.
Bruce Berry, 18 Aug 1999

SWANU (South West African National Union) at first joined hands with SWAPO. Later this Hereo-supported group joined with the Damara Council and other smaller groups to form a multiracial coalition.
source: Political Handbook of the World, 1997.
SWAPO in Namibia represents the major Ovambo group (47% of the Namibian population), while SWANU (is that now Congress of Democrats?) represents the Herero (7%) and Damara (7%).
Jarig Bakker, 2 Apr 2001

Congress of Democrats (COD)

There is a new party, the Congress Of Democrats. Its flag has a blue field. There are two white lines that form a cross divided in four equals parts with a big yellow five pointed star in the center fimbriated in white. The fimbriation joins with the two lines (same witdh). The flag is printed in colorful leaflets of the party. They have T-shirts with the flag too. And in the central of the party in Windhoek, their flag is flying from a pole painted with blue and yellow stripes; on another pole the national flag is flying higher.
Santiago Taz�n, 25 Oct 1999

Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA)

At a simplistic level Dorling Kindersley is probably true. The flag of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) is equal horizontal stripes of blue over red, charged in the centre with a white roundel bearing a hand couped at the wrist, giving the "Victory" sign, in blue outline, above the letters D.T.A. in red. This was the flag in use at the time of the 1989 elections.
Previously the DTA used a flag which was vertically divided in the centre, with light blue at the hoist and white in the fly. There were eleven gold stars forming a circle, one for each of the ethnic groups in the territory.
Bruce Berry, 20 Feb 1998

Turnhalle (literally : Gymnastics Hall in German, ed.) is the name of the sports house in Windhoek where the constitutional conference about Namibia was held, from 1 Sept 1975. The Hall was built in 1913 by the Germans. At the conference were present 134 delegates from 11 organizations:

• South West African Labour Party.
• Bushman Alliance (BA).
• Caprivi delegation.
• Namibia Democratic Turnhalle Party (NDTP, Nama).
• National Democratic Party (NDP, Ovambo).
• National United Democratic Organization (NUDO, herero).
• Rehoboth DTA party (RDTAP), formerly the Rehoboth Baster Association.
• Republican Party (white people).
• Seoposengwe Party (Tswana).
• South West Africa People's Democratic United Front (SWAP-DUF, Damara).
• National Democratic Unity Party (NDUP, Kavango).
• Christian Democrat Union (CDU, coloured)

Southwest Africa: on the occasion of the murdered Herero-chief and president of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, Chief Clemens Kapuno, the tribal flag was also displayed.
Source: Deutsche Zeitung 16 of 14.4.1978, via O. Neubecker
Jaume Oll�, 9 Oct 1999

In documents about DTA, I have seen photos of big meetings of the alliance, plenty of flags. But not only the usual DTA flag but a version with the same colors (BLUE,WHITE and RED) but in three horizontal stripes, really they are Netherland flags. Mixed with usual DTA flags they got the effect.
Santiago Taz�n, 25 Oct 1999

The flag of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) of Namibia has the logo on this website in the middle :ie the circle with the hand and the lettering with the colours as described by Bruce Berry. It can be found on the lefthand top corner at this website
Gary Selikow, 2 Dec 2001

Caprivi Liberation Army