Contesting Caprivi

Bennett Kangumu

Description

Caprivi, the remote and narrow Namibian strip of land encapsulated by neighbouring Angola, Zambia and Botswana, has a contested colonial and postcolonial history. Bennett Kangumu traces the politics of its people in this complex borderlands since the late 19th century. Neglected by German and South African colonial administrations, its inhabitants were often pushed towards neighbouring territories though not being an integral part of them. At the same time, South African apartheid and homeland politics emphasised the ethnization of local identities. Becoming a strategic location in the ensuing liberation wars of the late 20th century, its history is often one of conquest and resistance, plunder, betrayal and rivalry. Kangumu shows how the inhabitants of Caprivi responded in various ways, notably in the form of regional nationalism when the Caprivi African National Union (CANU) was formed in the early 1960s. The Union’s merger with the dominant Namibian liberation movement, SWAPO, was a claim to end seperation and isolation, which, however, flarred up again in post-colonial Namibia.

Sujets

• History

Informations

• Publié par: Basler Afrika Bibliographien
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9783905758467
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 12 Mo

Extrait

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Basel Namibia Studies Series
1 Zedekia Ngavirue POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS IN SOUTH WEST AFRICA (NAMIBIA)
A STUDY OF A PLURAL SOCIETY (1972) (1997)
2 Wolfgang Werner ‘NO ONE WILL BECOME RICH’. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE HERERO
RESERVES IN NAMIBIA, 1915–1946 (1998)
3 Lauren Dobell
ND (2
4 Tony Emmett POPULAR RESISTANCE AND THE ROOTS OF NATIONALISM IN NAMIBIA, 1915–1966
(1999)
5 James Suzman ‘THINGS FROM THE BUSH’. A CONTEMPORARY HISTORY OF THE OMAHEKE
BUSH6 William Heuva
7 Marion Wallace
8/9 Lovisa T. Nampala; Vilho Shigwedha AAWAMBO KINGDOMS, HISTORY AND CULTURAL
10 Bennett Kangumu CONTESTING CAPRIVI. A HISTORY OF COLONIAL ISOLATION AND REGIONAL
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Introduction by Lazarus Hangula
Contesting Caprivi
A History of Colonial Isolation and
Regional Nationalism in Namibia
Basel Namibia Studies Series 10
Basler Afrika Bibliographien 2011SDSHUVL[W\SHUFHQWVXJ
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©2011 The authorsphotographers
©2011 Basler Afrika Bibliographien
Basler Afrika Bibliographien
Namibia Resource Centre & Southern Africa Library
Klosterberg 23
P O Box 2037
CH-4051 Basel
Switzerland
www.baslerafrika.ch
All rights reserved.
Efforts were made to trace the copyright holders of illustrations and maps used in this publication. We
apologise for any incomplete or incorrect acknowledgements.
Cover photograph:
An uneasy alliance of war and politics: Chiefs Josiah Mutwa Moraliswani (front row, left) and Richard
Temuso Muhinda Mamili (front row, right), with members of the so called South West Africa Territorial
Force (SWATF), the South African backed army in Namibia, on their way to the celebrations of the
10th anniversary of Battalion 701 in August 1987. Battalion 701, one of two ethnically designed
battalions in the Caprivi war zone, was stationed in Mpacha close to Katima Mulilo, eastern Caprivi.
National Archives of Namibia, Photo Collection 09358.
Basic Cover Design: VischerVettiger Basel
Printed by John Meinert Printing (PTY) Ltd., Windhoek, Namibia
ISBN Switzerland: 978-3-905758-22-1
ISSN 2234-9561
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Contents
Basel Namibia Studies Series IX
Isolation, Invasions and a ‘Caprivian’ Identity XI
An Introduction by Lazarus Hangula XI
Acknowledgements 1
1 Introduction 3
Population 4
Ethnic Terminology 14
Sources and Methodology 16
Limitations of the Study 19
Literature Review 20
2 Pre-Colonial Caprivi: Conquest, Betrayel and Rivalry 25
Subiya-Lozi Relations 27
Subiya-Makololo Interaction 35
Other Groups in Pre-colonial Caprivi 41
Summary 45
3 Colonial Administrative Identity I:
From 1890 to World War II 47
Informal Colonialism: Missionaries, Traders, and their
Interaction in Caprivi 48
The Creation of the Caprivi Identities:
Germany’s Riparian State on the Zambezi 55
Creating the Caprivi Identities 55
Administering the Caprivi during the German Colonial Rule 61
Ma-Dostela in Der Caprivi Zipfel, 1909-1914 64
A Transferable Identity: The Caprivi 1914-1939 72
Military Rule, 1915-1921 72
Under the Bechuanaland Administration, 1921-1929 76
Appended to SWAA: The Caprivi Strip 1929-1939 78
$6SKHUHRI,Q8XHQFH 4 Colonial Administrative Identity II:
From Bantu Reserve to Bantustan, 1939-1982 92
A Bantu Reserve, 1939-1960 92
Perceptions of Land and People 93
A Place of Natural Beauty: The ECZ Bantu Reserve 95
The Imperial War Graves Commission and the Caprivi 99
Chief Simataa Mamili and the Administration 100
Education and Health 102
Barotse Privileges, Muntunjobuswa and the Caprivian Identities 108
A South African Bantustan in Central Africa,
the Caprivi Strip 1960–1980 111
The Odendaal Recommendation for a Bantustan 112
The UN, Odendaal and the Caprivian Identities 113
The Planning Committee 115
Growth of Katima Mulilo and Social Control 117
Ngweze Village Development 118
The Caprivi Legislative Assembly and Caprivi Government 122
Summary 126
5 The Frontier Identity of the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel 128
The Mfecane and Refuge as an Aspect of Frontier Identity 129
Outlaw Frontier, 1890 – 1909 131
Migrant Labour as an Aspect of Frontier Identity 133
Military Frontier as an Aspect of Caprivianness 144
Summary 161
6 Rival Histories and Contested Caprivi Identities 165
The Dispute over ‘Indigenousness’ between Mafwe and Masubiya 167
The Internal Boundary Issue 172
History of the Internal Boundary Dispute 173
Katima Mulilo: A Communal Capital 176
Bukalo, Seat of Munitenge Royal Establishment 177
The Lake Lyambezi Area 177
Caprivi Politics and the Issue of Indigenousness 179
The Mafwe Kuta 179
Self-Government and Indigenousness 182
The Katima Declaration on National Reconciliation 185
Summary 1877 African Responses to the Caprivi Identities 190
Sources of Discontent Prior to 1946 190
The Proposed Incorporation of SWA into the Union 192
The Odendaal Commission Public Hearings 196
The Public Hearings at Katima Mulilo 196
The Caprivi African National Union (CANU) 198
The Changing World Beyond our Borders 198
The Formation of CANU 201
CANU’s Subversive Activities against the Authorities 207
A Cattle Sale as a Contested Terrain 211
8 Regional Nationalism and Repression 214
Political Repression and Brendan Simbwaye’s Disappearance 214
The Trial of Brendan Simbwaye and his Co-accused 216
The Simbwaye-Goldblatt-Kapuuo Connection 220
The 1968 Singalamwe (Mayala village) Massacre 227
CANU: 1964 and after 230
The ‘New CANU’ 233
Summary 234
9 Secession: The Identity of People as ‘Caprivians’ and not Namibians 237
A Peripheral Identity: Caprivi Under Colonialism 239
South Africa’s Construction of Caprivi Secession 244
Mishake Muyongo and Caprivi Secession 246
Summary 260
10 Conclusion 263
List of Figures 272
List of Maps 273
List of Tables 274
Abbreviations 275
Bibliography 277
Index 298