Namibia and South Africa’s ruling parties share a heroic history – but their 2024 electoral prospects look weak

HENNING MELBER and ROGER SOUTHALL

NAMIBIAN president Hage Geingob used his recent state visit to South Africa to also address a meeting of the national executive committee of the governing party, the African National Congress (ANC). This underscored the ANC’s historic ties to Namibia’s governing party, South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo).

According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also heads the ANC, the party had a “wonderful engagement” with Geingob, who posted on Facebook: As former liberation movements, we learn from one another, a manifestation of the deep bonds of solidarity formed during our struggle against oppression.

As political scientists and sociologists, we both followed individually and jointly the performance of the two organisations since the days of the liberation struggles. We have continuously analysed and commented on trends in their governance of the countries.

In our view, the nostalgic reminiscences of the parties’ days as liberation movements serve as a heroic patriotic