#Koevoet patrol taken near #Rundu in the Kavango region of South West Africa/Namibia 30/08/1988.

A highly effective but highly controversial paramilitary Police force, Koevoet (meaning “crow bar”) abbreviated Operation K or SWAPOL- COIN (South West African Police Counter Insurgency) was a major paramilitary organisation under South African administered South-West Africa/Namibia.

The name – “Crowbar” being a popular allusion to successful attempts at prying insurgents from the local population. Created by South African Police, the unit’s initial directive was to conduct internal reconnaissance. However Koevoet quickly became one of the most effective combat forces deployed against the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) during the war.

Consisting of some 250 white and 800 black Ovambo operators, it either killed or captured some 3,225 guerrillas and fighting an estimated 1,615 engagements,

Such was the effectiveness of this unit that it became highly feared by Namibian guerilla combatants and civilians alike – therefore as a pathway to peace, and no war left to fight, Koevoet was disbanded in Namibia after 1989.

Image courtesy Outapi War Museum. Photo John Liebenberg #Casspir