ABSTRACT
The high media profile enjoyed by Bushmen soldiers added to a common perception among black Namibians that all Bushmen were South African Defence Force (SADF) traitors. The battalion insignia was a pied crow, an idea derived from the belief that many Bushmen supposedly kept domestic crows. The relationships of dependency between the military and Bushmen were further complicated by the fact that the Vasekele, all of whom were of Angolan descent, were considerably more dependent upon the army than the Barakwena. The anthropologists regarded the SADF as a unitary agent that saw Bushmen as pre-(non) modern, whereas they argued that Bushmen were modern but constituted an economic underclass. The abusive incident may have stemmed from general SADF disillusionment and frustration with poor soldiering on the part of some troopers in the Bushman battalion. The SADF's fear of revenge against Bushmen proved to be misplaced, at least in the short term.
