Chiefs, Terror, and Propaganda: The Motivations of Namibian Loyalists to Fight in South Africa's Security Forces, 1975-1989

With reference to a new literature on so-called 'loyalist' forces of settler and colonial militaries, this article examines the complex motivations for why black Namibians joined apartheid South Africa's security forces during Namibia's liberation struggle. I suggest that the stories and experiences of these soldiers shine new light on the nature of nationalist wars of independence and decolonisation. Drawing on interviews with former soldiers of two units, Koevoet and SWATF, I argue that the study of non-economic motivations challenges the popular notion that black troops were purely self-interested traitors, and allows for a deeper understanding of the divisive dynamics of the conflict along familial, communal, and ethnic lines. I highlight the following motivations in particular: the role of traditional authorities in military recruitment; the alienation by and search for protection against the violence of guerrillas; and the impact of South African propaganda which portrayed the security forces as protectors and the war as an inter-ethnic civil war. In addition, I emphasise the fact that, as black soldiers became trapped in their alliance with South Africa, their motivations for enlisting in the security forces were not the same as for remaining in them.