Deadstock Rare 80s Vintage South West Africa Police Koevoet Camo Uniform Set - Medium

Genuine South West African Police issue 

A matching uniform set, made by the Thrustor Group

A very rare and unique camouflage pattern, these uniforms were issued to the South West African Police from 1980, until their disbandment in 1989. A rare and niche piece of camouflage history. 

South West Africa, now Namibia, was a German colony from 1884 until South African forces seized it during the First World War, after which it became a League of Nations mandate administered by South Africa. Following the Second World War, South Africa treated the territory as a fifth province, sparking resistance from the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), which launched a guerrilla war in 1966 through its armed wing, PLAN.

The resulting Border War (1966–1989) drew in multiple actors, including the South African Defence Force, South West African Territorial Force (SWATF), South West African Police (SWAPOL), UNITA, Cuban and Angolan forces, Umkhonto we Sizwe, and Zambian troops. Among South Africa’s most effective counter-insurgency units was Koevoet, a SWAPOL paramilitary force formed in 1978 that used mainly indigenous recruits skilled in tracking, intelligence gathering, and hot pursuit, accounting for a significant share of SWAPO losses. As international pressure mounted in the late 1980s, South Africa agreed to a peace accord in 1988, UNTAG oversaw demobilization, and Koevoet was disbanded under UN demands.

In 1989 Namibia held its first elections, and in 1990 the country formally achieved independence as the Republic of Namibia. Prior to independence, its armed forces, the SWATF, functioned as an auxiliary of the SADF with similar uniforms, while SWAPOL operated with its own distinctive camouflage.