Koevoet: Experiencing South Africa's Deadly Bush War

Strategic messaging, psychological operations and black propaganda can be considered conflict communication control methods across a spectrum from hard truth to cold lies. Jim Hooper is a US journalist, writing for a British publication, who embedded with a South African counterinsurgency unit fighting against Namibia’s rebel group, SWAPO. SWAPO operated both in Namibia and Angola with overt support from the Cubans and Russians. The South West Africa Police Counterinsurgency unit, nicknamed Koevoet (Afrikaans for “crowbar”), was 90 percent black African. The majority of black African Koevoet were Ovambo, the same ethnic group which made up the majority of SWAPO’s own rebel militias and leadership (Kindle location 1123). The other black African Koevoet members hailed from a number of other Namibian and Angolan ethnic groups to include disbanded and current Angolan rebel groups against the Angolan ruling MPLA party.In the context of the cold war, the South African military and the Koevoet were fighting against communist influence in their protectorate Southwest Africa (Namibia), which had been a South African province since the German loss in WWI. However, especially after a UN resolution supporting Namibia’s independence, Namibia was considered one of the last African colonies still under white colonial domination; in this case a white apartheid, racist, government. What follows is a history of a war with a fascinatingly complex political, social and cultural entanglement that no one side could easily wrap in an ethically concise manner, but whose landscape is ripe for everything from honest strategic messaging to downright black propaganda. Jim Hooper, during his 1986-1987 embed with Koevoet, reveals events that should spark questions from all sides and in the end, explain a code of war and brotherhood any side, enemy or friendly, is often loath to admit.Victors write the history books, but the cold war’s losers of proxy wars could also be found on the side of the overall victor. What history of loss do these victories write, read… or ignore? Hooper begins his assignment with Koevoet assuming the same negative stereotypes against the Koevoet unit and its master, the South African government. Koevoet were said to be bloodthirsty, uneducated and perhaps deranged counterinsurgency troops perfect for their ‘immoral mission’. Hooper never apologizes for the apartheid government but leads the reader through his own journey revealing a Koevoet unit with sincere motives, and for most, a valid personal viewpoint of their place in the southwest African chaos of propaganda. What replaces Hooper’s condemnation of Koevoet is not blanket support, however, but instead loyalty, in brotherhood fashion, to a group of fighters with whom he bonded, made contact with the enemy and even experienced loss of life.Koevoet is not meant to be an exoneration of South African policies. In a way, the author’s intense interaction with Koevoet reveals a side of war, especially guerrilla wars on the edge of larger competitions for global influence, rarely expressed or understood. In wars for hearts and minds, counterinsurgency, it is possible that all sides have their personal valid reasons for lending active support. In the case of the innocent civilians, they would nimbly choose sides according to immediate advantage or perceived long-term stability. Hooper’s analysis of the war disagrees with those who held a one-sided unquestioned support for SWAPO, whom Hooper concludes were ruthless in their own right, cheating local populations, local politics and international law.The narrative expressed by Hooper could also be expanded beyond the cold war context reaching back into imperialist history. The history of colonialism in Africa documents a divide and conquer strategy in many regions. To claim that SWAPO was overwhelmingly Ovambo and barely represented the ethnic groups of middle and southern Namibia is true in fact but not in spirit. The Koevoet/SWAPO guerilla warfare sowed distrust and chaos within in the civilian population as both sides sought to intimidate civilians into supporting their respective sides. Hooper contends that South Africa simply wanted a stable Namibia and a Namibian government that was free from communist bullying at the start of their independence. Many Namibians wanted neither Russian nor South African support. “I don’t want the racist white Namibian regime and we shouldn’t have to trade one white master for another. But we also shouldn’t have to choose communism….”Hooper’s account of Koevoet is also valuable for its description of Koevoet tactics; enlisting local Ovambo tracking expertise to follow suspected SWAPO fighters over dozens, sometimes hundreds of miles. South Africa’s military equipment was specialized for this specific type of bush warfare and their close ground and air integration something of a novelty in the 1980s. But what impressed Hooper most was the comradery between all Koevoet members, black, white, officer, enlisted. While the white Afrikaans-speaking officers worked the truck mounted guns, they were also the most obvious targets for enemy fire. Unit medics, CASEVAC and defensive postures never biased one ethnicity over another. It was in observation of Koevoet comradery that Hooper exclaimed, “But if it’s happening so easily in the military, why can’t the same thing happen at the same time outside – in the civilian life? (kindle location 871)”I’ve seen journalists give military members too much credit, not enough credit and least often, the exact credit for the context. Most often, the error is a context that is completely skewed to one side. Koevoet was a counterterrorism unit like many others who fight on varying sides of rebel, independent, government and terrorist factions. In wars like these, sometimes it is less about who wins but how reconciliation is achieved. South Africa’s truth and reconciliation commission accounted for a number of the alleged atrocities committed on all sides and to a limited extent, provided an honorable entry back in to society for especially the black African members of Koevoet who fought on the “wrong” side. It’s hard to imagine such a reconciliation in Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan or Libya today (noting the context of inter-Arab ideological competition and greater Persian-Arab rivalry). Despite propaganda one way or the other, the fighters will want to come home. They will need to come home, and there are very few who understand the comradery, pain and stress experienced in the profession of arms; especially that of a guerrilla unit, on the wrong side of history.

No, Jim, you EARNED that medal and quite deserve it, thanks for a great read. This was very educational and personal account.

I had heard about Koevoet in several other books I’ve read about the various wars in Africa during the Cold War, but this is the first book I’ve read that dealt with Koevoet specifically. The author was not a member of the unit; he is a journalist. But he was embedded with the unit in a way that few journalists, even South Africans, were able to do.Hooper obviously respected the South Africans and Namibians (South West Africans) with whom he traveled for several months. He went on missions into the bush with them and was wounded on several occasions. The operators were honest with him, and he was honest about what he saw and was told. Despite the Apartheid going on in South Africa at the time, Hooper spoke of the interracial cooperation and lack of racism in Koevoet, but he was also honest enough to talk about the one (unnamed) white officer who had racist sentiments. This honesty about the lack of racism in the unit, along with his honest reporting of atrocities committed by the “freedom fighters,” earned Hooper quite a bit of animosity, not the least from potential publishers.The book goes into depth regarding Koevoet’s tactics and missions. Hooper takes the reader along during tracking, ambushes, mortar attacks, and all the events that characterized the unit’s counter-terrorist activities. His time in “the bush” technically only covered a few months, but his writing was so thorough that the reader has a deep understanding of the war as a whole. The book includes many pictures taken by the author, which helps the reader to connect more deeply with the events and people mentioned in the book.Hooper is an engaging author who manages to keep the writing interesting even during non-combat portions of the book. His honesty and lack of preconceptions regarding the men of Koevoet are commendable and refreshing, especially in light of most of the literature from non-South Africans from that time period. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the African “bush wars.” As mentioned before, this was the first book I read about this unit specifically, but I feel like I have a clear understanding of Koevoet and its mission. For that, Hooper deserves to be commended.

Hats off to that crazy American Jim Hooper for a very interesting account of an excellent COIN (Counter Insurgency) unit written in a very readable format with no sugar coating, warts and all. Jims first hand accounts make the story all the more believable. War is a nasty business and not for sissies. PC be damned. The book was of particular interest to me as I was also involved in COIN operations in Ovamboland during the period Feb '83 through May '84 with the 31/201 BN bushmen from Omega Base near Rundu. My role was as a Buffel and Casspir driver, Casspirs being Koevoets vehicle of choice. Our methods were different to those of Koevoets but we did have successes although not quite as much as Koevoet. During many hundreds of kilometers driving I visited many of the places mentioned in the book crossing paths with Koevoet on more than one occasion. My last time being just before I left the SWA border. We had stopped next to the road for some reason on our way back to our base at NKongo, after a 3 week patrol , when a Koevoet unit passed us. A few minutes later all hell broke lose ahead. Koevoet had run into an ambush of an unusually big group of SWAPO. We all jumped into our vehicles and raced ahead but by the time we got to the ambush site SWAPO were hightailing it North with Koevoet hot on their tails. I didn't envy SWAPO. We followed briefly but were low on diesel so we continued on to base. I often wonder what would have happened if we'd hit the ambush instead of Koeveot .... Anyway I'm rambling ... The book would be of interest to anyone who has the slightest interest in combat tales. I read it in one sitting.

Great piece of work. The author writes knowledgeably and with a great deal of respect for the people with whom he spent his time. The nature of the 'apartheid wars' are poorly recorded and even more poorly understood. This book offers an open and objective account of what it was actually like for the members of Koevoet and puts some of the nonsense stories to rest. It is well balanced and the ANC and their cold bloodedness and willingness to exploit and kill are examined in the same cold light of day as are all other objects. The author captures an overwhelming sense of 'what it was really like' in this book. For those who can put their preconceived prejudices to one side it is a powerful read and equally it is of core importance to what is becoming an overwritten history.

I had this book on my 'to read' list for over 20years. I lived in the north of Namibia in the mid 90s for 2 years and know the areas described well. History is written by the victors and SWAPO certainly did that. It's refreshing to get a perspective from 'the other side' to help form a balanced view of a geopolitical great game of the last gasp of the 20th century. It's well written and gives a depth of character and the human cost of a bloody and ultimately futile conflict. I heartily recommend this to anybody interested in people and what makes them tick as well as history and Africa buffs.

The conflict between the South African supported forces of Namibia and the Communist insuregency took place during an era of growing western hostility towards apartheid in particular and white involvement in Africa in general. This usually meant much South African suspicion towards western journalists, media people who were experts at ignoring the atrocities committed by communist supported insurgents while proving themselves ever eager to believe the worst of the South African forces on the flimsiest of allegations. This meant Jim Hooper faced a difficult time in getting acceptance to allow him to understand what was going on, that he did so and was able to do justice to the men of Koevoet is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this account, after all the men involved in this sort of fighting were not likely to be impressed or fooled by some smarmy two faced western journalist. A first class read of the difficulties and affects that war imposed of those who sought to offer Namibians an alternative to the communist and UN inspired offering of lies and brutality. A first class read.

My involvement with this story is rather personal; in the year that this was penned I was an Ops Medic at the military base of Eenhana when the author was casavaced to us after getting hit in the arm during an enemy contact. Things being what they were then, I did not really get a chance to speak with the “Mad foreign journalist” as we jokingly referred to him, but he left me with enough of an impression to want to read his take on things.Having missed the 1st edition print I was very glad to see Koevoet re-released 25 years later on.Snapping up a copy on Amazon I was immediately transported back to the heat and conflict of Okovangoland in 1987.It takes the astute observations of an outsider to expose a story like this with the complete objectivity it requires. It also took some balls to immerse himself into a proverbial nest of vipers - even more so getting it published.I felt the story was an accurate and unbiased portrayal of the situation and true reflection of a complicated war not fully understood even by those fighting it.If you were there this is a must read, if you were not, it will take you there and show you what it really was.Thanks for an excellent read and a flood of memories Jim!

Excellent book,lots of detail, witty humour and very easy to follow