Pauline Dempers

Pauline Dempers is a Namibian human rights and anti-apartheid activist who has served as national coordinator for the organization Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS) since 1999. BWS is a grassroots group that advocates for the rights of victims who were abducted, imprisoned, and tortured at the hands of the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAMPO) political party during the Namibian War of Independence against South Africa. Initially Pauline had worked with SWAMPO in the fight for independence, but they began to suspect many of its own members were spies for the opposition movement. Pauline and hundreds of others were arrested for espionage without ever receiving a trial. She spent three years enduring imprisonment and torture-filled interrogations. 

In addition to working with BWS, Pauline has worked closely with the Congress of Democrats and other political factions wthat have opposed SWAMPO and its institutionalized political corruption. Politically, her work has remained centered on prompting the National Assembly to find a final resolution for all the detainees and victims of SWAMPO’s liberation movement.