Hans Diergaardt

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Johannes Gerard Adolph Diergaardt, more commonly known as Hans Diergaardt (16 September 1927 – 13 February 1998) was a Namibian politician active for nearly a decade after Namibia gained independence. Prior to that, he was elected as the fifth

Baster community at Rehoboth, succeeding Dr. Ben Africa
in 1979 after winning a court challenge to the disputed election of 1976.

Both before and after independence, Diergaardt founded several local political parties, among them the

Constituent Assembly of Namibia
, convened to draft the constitution for the new nation of Namibia.

Diergaardt is known for his criticism of black-majority rule in the early years of

Afrikaans
-speaking Basters.

Early life and political activities

Diergaardt was born into a

South-West Africa, on 16 September 1927.[1]
He became a professional car mechanic but also worked as a farmer, businessman, and politician throughout his life.

In 1947 Diergaardt started his political career by joining the Rehoboth Burgervereniging (English: Rehoboth Citizen Association). He later founded the Rehoboth Tax Payers Association (1959), the Rehoboth Volksparty (English: Rehoboth Peoples' Party, 1968), and the Rehoboth Liberation Party (1975).

guerrilla
war against South Africa.

Diergaardt was elected as a member of the Rehoboth Advisory Council in 1959. After

Turnhalle Conference (1975–1977) in opposition to Kaptein Ben Africa, who officially led the Baster delegation at the conference.[2]

Ascension to Kaptein

In 1976 South Africa granted the Basters a form of autonomy for the area around Rehoboth under the Self-Government Act, No. 56, in an effort to hold their loyalty. As part of its implementation of a Baster Homeland, South Africa supported an election for the Kaptein (Tribal chief) of Rehoboth. Incumbent Dr. Ben Africa won narrowly, and Diergaardt came second. Diergaardt challenged the election results in court; when he won in 1979, he was confirmed as the fifth Baster Kaptein in history.[2]

He served as leader of the

Baster Homeland (or bantustan) from 1979 until independence in 1990. Believing that alliances with native tribes was important, Diergaardt promoted new housing for the Nama people and was the first local authority in Namibia to desegregate the school system. He also tried to build alliances at the national level to enable the Basters to have a voice in their future, but the major effort there was on ridding the country of South Africa control.[3]

Diergaardt represented the Rehoboth Free Democratic Party (RFP) and had a seat in the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU). This was directly linked to the South African apartheid state, which allowed it to operate some governmental powers from June 1985 to February 1989. Diergaardt was the second chairman of the TGNU.[4]

Prior to

Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which wrote the country's constitution. After independence, in 1990 Diergaardt threatened armed secession from Namibia if the government tried to redistribute the land of Rehoboth (as had been discussed prior to independence.) He believed that minority group rights were not sufficiently protected under the Namibian Constitution.[5]
He mounted a court challenge seeking to establish autonomy for the Basters based on their prior history in the country; the Supreme Court ruled they had no special status.

Before his death, Diergaardt filed an official complaint on behalf of the Basters with the

Afrikaans language
in dealing with this community.

Diergaardt died from a heart attack in Rehoboth on 13 February 1998.[2][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Chronology for Basters in Namibia, UNCHR, 2004
  2. ^ a b c d Dierks, Klaus. "Biographies of Namibian Personalities, D". klausdierks.com. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  3. ^ JOSEPH LELYVELD, Special to the New York Times, "MIXED-RACE NAMIBIAN GROUP SEEKS POLITICAL ALLIES", New York Times, 30 July 1981, accessed 9 April 2016
  4. ^ "Hans Diergaardt", Namibia, World Statesmen
  5. ^ " 'Rehoboth Journal;' Fearful Namibian Tribe Raises Flag of Freedom", The New York Times, April 4, 1990
  6. ^ Nunuhe, Margreth (18 February 2013). "Rehoboth community in danger of extinction". New Era. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013.
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