After over two decades of bloodletting, South Africa and SWAPO agreed a ceasefire in April 1989. Peace negotiations began, elections were held and a new constitution was approved. Namibia became independent on March 21^8t 1990, with the veteran revolutionary Sam Nujoma as first president of Namibia.

Unlike some African nations that got independence almost on a silver plate, Namibia's road to independence was bloody and tearful. Nevertheless, the struggle for independence succeeded and this was attributed to many factors.

1. The role of the UNO, which revoked South Africa's mandate over Namibia and resolved to take over and prepare her for independence. The UNO too recognised SWAPO and put pressure on South Africa to grant Namibia independence. In 1971, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), an arm of the UNO, ruled that South Africa ends its illegal occupation of Namibia. The UNO Security Council went ahead to restrain its member states from assisting South Africa to remain in Namibia. Above all, the UNO organised and supervised the pre-independence elections that led to the eventual decolonisation of Namibia. Such support and contribution by the UNO made the success of the struggle inevitable.

2. The Lisbon coup of 1974 and the consequent victory of MPLA in Angola was a decisive event in the eventual decolonisation of Namibia. In April 1974, the Conservative and despotic leader of Portugal, Antonio Caetano, was toppled and replaced by a liberal leader, Antonio de Spinola. Unlike his predecessors, Spinola agreed to end colonial wars and grant independence to Angola. The independence of Angola, which largely happened because of the coup, was a blessing to the armed struggle in Namibia. SWAPO successfully launched more substantial military operations against the South African occupying forces from bases in Angola. The people of Namibia too, thought that if Angola could get independence, it was possible for them as well. This encouraged them to fight on, leading to independence in 1990. 

3. The collapse of the triumvirate of Portugal, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. The apartheid regime in South Africa, the white racist regime in Southern Rhodesia and Portugal, which owned the colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau, agreed to cooperate to frustrate nationalism. Through this arrangement, South Africa would draw support from Portugal and Southern Rhodesia to fight the African National Congress. However, the triumvirate collapsed and South Africa could no longer enjoy support from the other members. This weakened her militarily and made her defeat by SWAPO inevitable, leading to the triumph of nationalism in Namibia possible.

4. The establishment of Liberation movements played a major role in the triumph of nationalism in Namibia. The elite of Namibia founded SWANU in 1959 and SWAPO in 1960. The two liberation movements united, mobilised and politicised the people in preparation for independence. But several years of unsuccessfully trying to use passive resistance to win independence, SWAPO resorted to protracted guerrilla warfare against South African occupation.

5. SWAPO recruited blacks in Namibia and sent them to bases in Zambia, Tanzania, Egypt, Angola and the former USSR for training. Thereafter, SWAPO established the People's Liberation Army (PLAN) as its military wing to conduct the struggle for independence. .

6. After Angola got independence in 1975, SWAPO relocated to and established bases in Angola, from where it launched more substantial war to liberate Namibia. SWAPO agreed to a ceasefire with South Africa in 1989, participated in elections in the same year and went ahead to form the first government on independence.

7. Sir Harold Macmillan "Wind of change" speech to the South African Parliament sounded a death knell to South Africa's occupation of Namibia. In his speech, Macmillan insinuated that agitation for independence in Africa was irreversible and called upon colonial powers to start the process of decolonisation. This good news did not only encourage the people of Namibia to rise up against South Africa, but also justified their cause and gave rise to military and resurgent nationalism. The resolve of the people of Namibia to win independence was hardened, making the triumph of nationalism inevitable.

8. The effective use of the protracted guerrilla warfare was instrumental in the success of the decolonisation process in Namibia. After realising that it could not successfully defeat South Africa in a direct military confrontation, SWAPO resorted to guerrilla tactics. PLAN, the armed wing of SWAPO was divided into small mobile units, which laid ambushes and conducted surprise and confusing attacks on South African forces. Guerrilla tactics led to a lot of casualties on the part of South Africa.

9. The freedom fighters too, conducted terrorist attacks on white settles and South Africa's military, economic and administrative establishments in Namibia. The South African modern and heavy weaponry was rendered almost useless since it became difficult to identify and isolate the rebels. The guerrilla tactics gradually hurt and weakened South Africa's occupying forces, making them to accept independence for Namibia.

10. The independence of countries neighbouring Namibia facilitated the success of the Namibian struggle for independence. The independence of Botswana in I960, Zambia in 1964 and Mozambique and Angola in 1975, gave courage to SWAPO to press on with the struggle with hope that independence was possible for Namibia as well. Namibia's independent neighbours provided SWAPO bases for training freedom fighters and from which it also launched guerrilla attacks on South African occupying forces.

11. The territories of Angola and Mozambique were used as safe passage for external aid meant for SWAPO. But in 1976, South Africa simultaneously bombarded SWAPO bases in Angola and Mozambique, forcing the freedom fighters to relocate their bases to Namibia.

12. External assistance from the communist world was significant in the eventual decolonisation of Namibia. Since SWAPO was organised on Marxist lines, it got ready and immediate support in the form of training, arms and ammunitions, uniforms and food from Cuba and Soviet Union. Such support was put to use fighting the occupying forces.

13. The liberation movements in Namibia received more support from western nations on the UNO Security Council, such as Canada, Britain, West Germany, France and America. Western nations had strong economic interests in Namibia and strongly opposed her domination by South Africa. The government of President Jimmy Carter in America opposed colonial rule and this influenced America's foreign policy towards Namibia.

14. The mentioned western states influenced and supported the UNO vote to revoke South Africa's mandate over Namibia. They too supported the International Court of Justice ruling that clearly stated that South Africa's control over Namibia was illegal. The 1977 South African plan that proposed independence to Namibia by 1978 but excluded blacks from participating in governance was opposed by western nations.

15. With pressure from USA, West Germany, France and Britain, South Africa came up with a new plan of independence acceptable to both the UNO and the people of Namibia in 1988. According to the 1988 plan, Namibia would gain independence by April 1990. A ceasefire was agreed in 1989 to prepare the ground for full independence in 1990.

16. The UNO Secretary General, Hurt Waldheim, played a significant role in the success of Namibia's struggle for independence. Waldheim dedicated his efforts and time to resolving the Namibian problem. He took the lead in trying to bring about a peaceful resolution. He made Namibia a priority of the UNO during his administration; he organised the 1989 ceasefire and worked tirelessly to ensure Namibia's peaceful transition to independence.

17. The emergence of strong and charismatic leaders in Namibia. Sam Nujoma, Jacob Kuhangwa and Herman Toivo Ja Toivo emerged on the scene to render effort to liberate Namibia. They founded liberation movements that engaged the occupying forces, travelled widely in search of support, organised strikes, boycotts and demonstrations against South Africa and declared an armed struggle to gain independence. Sam Nujoma was a pillar of resistance. He traversed Namibia to unite the various ethnic groups of the country for a common cause of independence.

18. In the elections leading to independence, Nujoma emerged victorious and went ahead to become president of Namibia. It should be noted that the above mentioned persons provided leadership that was instrumental in the eventual decolonisation of Namibia in 1990.

19. The use of passive resistance worked alongside the military strategy to bring independence to Namibia. In December 1971, SWAPO called nationwide peasants and workers' strikes. Slightly above 20,000 workers went on strike beginning in Ovamboland and spreading across the nation. The strikes became violent with the joining in of peasants who destroyed settlers' farms and property. South Africa's highhanded response to the strikes instead caused more strikes that crippled the occupying forces, forcing them to the negotiating table.

20. South Africa began with granting limited self-government to Namibians in the wake of the strikes. But SWAPO rejected limited independence since it could not settle for anything less than full independence.

21. The ability to transcend ethnic and tribal divisions by the people of Namibia. In the later stages of the struggle, the diverse ethnic groups of Namibia watered down their differences, united and worked together to fight colonial rule. SWAPO, which was predominantly Ovambo, recruited from the Nama, Herero, Khoisan, Damara, Tswana, Basters, Kavango and Caprivians.

22. South Africa's attempt to recruit and use minority tribes against SWAPO was futile. The unity of purpose among the people of Namibia was definitive in the success of Namibia's independence struggle.

23. The role played by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Through its liberation committee founded in 1964, the OAU recognised SWAPO and extended financial, military, moral and material support to the struggle for independence in Namibia. "The liberation struggle was encouraged by the OAU, which on top of its efforts, worked with the International community to end colonial rule in Namibia.

- The OAU worked througjh the UNO to establish a special committee for the decolonisation of Namibia. It condemned South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia and the atrocities meted out to the blacks. On top of taking her to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the OAU also imposed economic sanctions on SoUth Africa that stopped member nations from trading with her. Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were released partly because of pressure by the OAU.

- The OAU too, worked hand-in-hand with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to settle and support refugees arising from the Namibian struggle for independence.

- Finally, the OAU helped to monitor the transition to independence by supervising elections and it inaugurated Sam Nujoma in March 1990.

24. The relaxation of the cold war from 1985 provided a good political climate. The coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, witnessed a thaw in the cold war relations as Mikhail adopted detente towards the west.

25. America adopted a peaceful policy towards the Soviet Union and cut off military and financial support to South Africa to maintain her control of Namibia. South Africa's justification for American aid, of preventing Namibia from falling in the communist bloc could no longer hold water and even America changed policy to favour the independence of Namibia. Therefore, the cold war, which had held Namibia's independence, came to an end and this paved way for Namibia's independence in 1990.

26. The extreme brutality of South Africa instead strengthened and crystallised the resolve of the people of Namibia to win independence from South Africa. In response to the 1971 and 1972 SWAPO-organised strikes and boycotts, South Africa declared a state of emergency in Ovamboland, Thousands of villages were razed to the ground, Africans were arrested, tortured, detained without trial and some were murdered. This was done to breakdown African resistance. On the contrary, more South African brutality bred more resistance and made the struggle for independence more popular. It also influenced international opinion to favour independence for Namibia.

27. South African brutality stirred the emergence of militant nationalism, which systematically weakened South Africa, forcing her to grant independence to Namibia.

28. The coordination and cooperation among SWAPO, the African National Congress of South Africa and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola of Angola. The three liberation movements coordinated military strategy and shared experience in the struggle to liberate their respective countries. The SWAPO got training and support from the MPLA and was able to conduct joint operations against the apartheid regime with the ANC. This meant that South Africa fought war on two fronts; at home against the ANC that demanded independence and in Namibia with SWAPO that too wanted independence for Namibia. This weakened South Africa's bid to continue controlling Namibia and facilitated the success of the independence struggle.