A Matter of Life and Death: Criminal Law and the Death Penalty in South West Africa (SWA) under South African Rule, 1915–1939

Abstract

This article chronicles the history of criminal law in South West Africa (SWA) from 1915 to 1939, with a focus on the death penalty. The analysis encompasses South Africa's rule of SWA during World War I (WWI) and under the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission (PMC). The article secondarily explores the role criminal law played in South Africa's consolidation of control over SWA. It was primarily the diplomatic negotiations after WWI that granted South Africa a mandate over SWA. However, wartime legal reforms and cautious use of the death penalty helped lay the foundation for South Africa's anticipated rule of SWA after WWI. Furthermore, South Africa used its wartime record of criminal administration to convince the allies that it would administer SWA efficiently and humanely if granted a mandate. The PMC's reluctance to intervene in court procedures gave South Africa broad authority to administer the death penalty. However, South Africa did not use executions to suppress opposition to its rule, but to punish interpersonal violence of rape and murder. Judicial ideas about race, age, class, and gender guided execution decisions. Nevertheless, administrative constraints and African resistance prevented the complete consolidation of South African criminal law during the mandatory period.