South Africa had denied that approximately 127 people, who were captured during South Africa's bombing raid on the Namibian refugee camps at Kassinga in Southern Angola in May 1978, are still being detained. The denial came from Major General Geldenhuys, the Officer Commanding the South African troops in Namibia, in response to publicity given by anti-apartheid groups on the second anniversary of the Kassinga massacre. 700 Namibian refugees were killed and 1500 wounded during the South African attack two years ago. In London, a silent protest vigil was held outside the South African Embassy on 2nd May with each protester holding up a card with the name of a Kassinga detainee.
There have been several attempts by prominent individuals visiting Namibia to see the detainees, who are being held at a camp at Hardap Dam near Mariental under reportedly inhuman conditions. Such attempts have failed because of the refusal of the South African-controlled administration to allow visits. In a statement issued on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Kassinga raid, SWAPO's London office said that it had approached the International Red Cross and other international humanitarian organisations to investigate the fate of the detainees.
Major General Geldenhuys described SWAPO's statement as "mere propaganda". The Administrator General, Dr Viljoen, denied that during his visit to London in April he had admitted that South Africa was holding these people, as SWAPO had pointed out in its statement. International concern over the detainees has grown as reports have filtered out of torture and atrocities being committed against them.
