ABSTRACT
Namibia, then known as South West Africa (SWA), was mandated to South Africa in 1920 by the League of Nations, following the defeat of the former colonial power Germany. However, South African designs on the country, particularly after 1949 when (White) representatives from SWA were seated in the South African parliament meant that apartheid was enforced by the South African authorities and entrenched from 1964 (Du Pisani, 1986). Conflict with the United Nations was inevitable and in 1966 an International Court of Justice only avoided condemning South African actions in SWA as illegal on a technicality. In October of that year, however, Pretoria’s mandate to govern the territory was revoked and in 1971 South Africa’s presence in SWA was declared illegal (Dugard, 1973).
