The history of the Legal Assistance Centre is embedded in Namibia's struggle to end South Africa's apartheid occupation and brutal rule of the country. In the 1980s, the
South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) was making progress in their fight for an independent state. However, human rights violations and the use of apartheid era law continued to justify inhumane, degrading and discriminatory practices. On the legal front, lawyer
Dave Smuts began pursuing public interest cases against the apartheid government. In 1987, Dave Smuts worked with churches in northern Namibia to successfully challenge the detainment of a group who had been held in prison without trial for several years. They were successful and together Smuts and church leaders began helping people obtain legal aid and spread information about laws. In July 1988, the Legal Assistance Centre was officially opened in
Ongwediva in northern Namibia by Dave Smuts and a group of lawyers and paralegals. The Legal Assistance Centre's founding was based on the principle of taking public interest legal cases to court and providing free services to clients. Additional offices were set up in
Windhoek,
Tsumeb,
Walvis Bay and
Rundu. Nearly 500 cases were handled by the organization in its first year of operation, the vast majority involving human rights abuses (assault, rape, detention) perpetrated by security forces. Labour cases (unfair dismissal, non payment of wages, workmen's compensation claims) were also brought to court in the Centre's first year. ==Notable cases==