Ordering the Nation: SWAPO in Zambia, 1974–1976

This article examines a conflict that occurred within the Namibian liberation movement, SWAPO, in Zambia between 1974 and 1976. It considers the conflict, sometimes misleadingly referred to as ‘the Shipanga Crisis’, from the perspective of the SWAPO-administered camps. Although previous studies indicate that the conflict manifested itself in these camps, they tend to depict the camps as a series of places where residents were influenced by individuals, such as Andreas Shipanga, and events, such as calls for a SWAPO congress, rather than as a kind of space which moulded social relations among the entire Namibian exile community. In contrast, this article focuses on practices in and around ‘the camp’, highlighting the extent to which it enabled SWAPO officials to shape allegiances and manage tensions among Namibians living in Zambia during the mid-1970s. In so doing, the piece offers a new perspective both on how some members of SWAPO consolidated power during a period when their authority was contested and on the significance of the camps for Southern Africa, and Southern African studies more generally.