Herman Andimba Toivo ya Toivo was a Namibian anti-apartheid activist, and political prisoner who later became the Minister of Prisons and Correctional Services of Namibia. He was one of the co-founders of the SouthWest African People's Organisation (SWAPO) in 1960, and before that, its predecessor the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) in 1959.
The armed military wing of SWAPO, was tried in the first trial under South Africa’s Terrorism Act of 21 June 1967. The Terrorism Act was applied retrospectively to convict these political activists from Namibia. Toivo Ya Toivo made a speech at the trial which was widely publicised thereafter. He stated in brief that, 'We are Namibians, and not South Africans. We do not now, and will not in the future, recognise your right to govern us; to make laws for us, in which we had no say; to treat our country as if it was your property and us as if you are our masters. We have always regarded South Africa as an intruder in our country. This is how we have always felt and this is how we feel now and it is on this basis that we have faced this trial'.
On 9 February 1968 Toivo Ya Toivo was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and sent to serve his sentence in the notorious prison of Robben Island near Cape Town. Toivo was placed in solitary confinement for a year and then jailed in a single cell in Section B with other prominent ANC leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. He was released from Robben Island after serving 16 years in March 1984.
FUN FACT: Toivo ya Toivo attended the Ongwediva Industrial School and qualified as a teacher at St. Mary’s Mission School in Odibo.
Jeannette Washington
Digital Learning and IB Continuum Teacher
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