Cassinga Day (Namibia)

Cassinga Day is a public holiday in Namibia, and it is observed on May 4 each year. The holiday commemorates the anniversary when a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola was attacked by the South African Defence Force in 1978.

The South West Africa People\’s Organization (SWAPO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party leading the independence movement in Namibia, also the governing party since its independence in 1990.

In 1976, a group of the People\’s Liberation Army of Namibia\’s (PLAN) guerrillas occupied Cassinga, an abandoned Angolan mining town, and established the PLAN camp. The Angolan government allocated it to SWAPO in 1976 to cope with the refugees from South West Africa. Cassinga became the Namibian guerrilla training site and refugee camp with many exiled SWAPO sympathizers and their families living there.

On May 4, 1978, the South African Defence Force flew over Cassinga and ran an air strike on the Namibian refugee camp near the village of Cassinga, followed by paratroopers. Over 600 people were massacred and hundreds were injured, most of them are women and children.

The ceremonies are held yearly at Heroes\’ Acre, outside of Windhoek, and many important national political figures including Presidents will attend.

The following is the list of Cassinga Day in Namibia from 2022 to 2026.