South Africa conquered Namibia from Germany during World War I and ruled the country as a province from 1915 to 1990. Under this occupation, black Namibians were subjected to apartheid laws and denied political rights, economic opportunity, and social freedoms.

This broadside and the adjacent one were made to support the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), a Namibian political party that led the country to independence in 1990. When Thamsanqa Mnyele presented the initial poster (left) to the Medu collective for feedback, fellow artist Mongane Wally Serote jokingly remarked that the language read like an advertisement for detergent. Unfazed, Mnyele streamlined his language and made a bolder depiction of the SWAPO guerrillas (right).