Blackwell Reference Online

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Hermann Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo was born on August 22, 1924 at Omangundu in Oshana Region of Namibia, near the Angolan border. After obtaining primary and secondary education in northern Namibia, Ya Toivo fought for the British in World War II from 1942 to 1943. After the war he initially worked as a teacher in Namibia and then moved to Cape Town employed as a railway police officer from 1952 to 1953. While in Cape Town, Ya Toivo joined with a network of other black Namibian expatriates and with black and anti-apartheid activists from all races and political persuasions. In 1957 he joined the South African National Congress (ANC) and Ya Toivo helped found the Ovamboland People's Congress (OPC), the precursor of the Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO), and forerunner to the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) . In cooperation with Mburumba Kerina and Michael Scott, Ya Toivo petitioned the United Nations in 1958 protesting South Africa's occupation of Namibia. The apartheid government reacted by deporting Ya Toivo from Cape Town to Namibia, where he was placed under house arrest in Ovamboland. While under surveillance, Ya Toivo remained active in the community of political dissidents in Namibia, in 1965 meeting with the first combatants from SWAPO's armed wing that filtered into Namibia to agitate among the indigenous population. In 1966, when SWAPO formally launched ... log in or subscribe to read full text