Dictionary:
Trans·kei (trăns-kā', -kī')  |
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Part of the Drakensberg Range was in W Transkei. Much of the former territory of the homeland is hilly or mountainous, and there is little good farmland. Most of the area's inhabitants speak a Xhosa language. Roughly two thirds of the Transkei's income was provided by the South African government, and all trade was conducted through South Africa.
History
In the 1830s and 40s the Transkei was the scene of fighting between European settlers and Africans over the possession of cattle and grazing land. Much of the territory was annexed in 1848 by Britain as Kaffraria, which in 1865 was joined to Cape Province. Transkei was separated from Cape Province in 1963 to become the first of ten black areas within South Africa that were allegedly internally self-governing. In 1976 Transkei became the first of the homelands to be granted "independence." The South African government then revoked the citizenship of its residents. Transkei's assembly controlled many internal matters, but its decisions were subject to the control of the South African government. From 1978 to 1980 territorial disputes prompted Transkei to sever diplomatic relations with South Africa. Like the other homelands, it was not recognized internationally as an independent state. In 1994, after a multiracial election, the establishment of a new South African government, and the end of apartheid, Transkei and the other nine homelands were reabsorbed into South Africa.
| Wikipedia: Transkei |
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The Transkei (meaning the area beyond [the river] Kei), officially the Republic of Transkei (Xhosa: iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa. Its capital was Mthatha, usually given as 'Umtata' on maps and in English-language medium materials.[1]
Transkei represented a significant precedent and historic turning point in South Africa's policy of apartheid and "separate development" in that it was the first of four territories to be declared independent. Throughout its existence, it remained an internationally unrecognised, diplomatically isolated, politically unstable de facto one-party state, and at one point even broke relations with South Africa, the only country that acknowledged it as a legal entity. In 1994, it was reintegrated into its larger neighbour and became part of the Eastern Cape province.
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The area was set up as one of the two homelands for Xhosa-speaking people, the other being Ciskei; it was given nominal autonomy in 1963. Although the first election was contested and won by the Democratic Party, whose founder Chief Victor Poto was opposed to the notion of Bantustan independence,[2] the actual government was formed by the Transkei National Independence Party, and of the 109 members in the regional parliament, only 45 were elected, the remaining seats held by ex officio chiefs.[3]
The entity became a nominally independent state in 1976 with its capital at Umtata (now Mthatha), although it was recognised only by South Africa and later—internally—by the other nominally independent republics within the TBVC-system. Chief Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima became its first head of government until 1978, when he assumed the office of president, a position he held until 1987.
South African prime minister B. J. Vorster justified the declaration of Transkei as an independent republic by referring to "the right of every people to have full control over its own affairs" and wished "Transkei and its leaders God's richest blessings on the road ahead."[4]
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My heritage commands me in the name of [Xhosa] nationhood to sacrifice the best of my abilities to the advancement of my own nation in its own country […].
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The General Assembly rejects the declaration of "independence" of the Transkei and declares it invalid.
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A press release by the African National Congress at the time rejected the Transkei's independence and condemned it as "designed to consolidate the inhuman policies of apartheid".[7] During its thirty-first session, in resolution A/RES/31/6 A, the General Assembly of the United Nations referred to Transkei's "sham independence" as "invalid," re-iterated its labeling of South Africa as a "racist régime," and called upon "all [g]overnments to deny any form of recognition to the so-called independent Transkei."[6] An article published in Time Magazine opined that though Transkei declared independence theoretically as a "free Black state," Matanzima ruled the territory as a de facto puppet-state dictator, banning local opposition parties and buying for himself and his family Transkei farmlands offered by the South African government at subsided prices.[8]
Matanzima himself published Independence my Way in 1976, a book in which he argued that true liberation could only be gained through a confederation of black states; he described Transkei as a positive precedent and maintained that the path of the liberation struggle chosen by the ANC would not be successful.[9]
Throughout its existence, Transkei's economy remained dependent on that of its larger neighbour, with the local population being recruited into South Africa's Rand mines.[10]
Because of a territorial dispute,[11] Matanzima announced on 10 April 1978 that Transkei would break all diplomatic ties with South Africa,[12] including a unilateral withdrawal from the non-aggression pact between the two governments, and ordered that all South African Defence Force members seconded to the Transkei Army should leave. This created the unique situation of a country refusing to deal with the only internationally recognised nation it was recognised by. Matanzima soon backed down in the face of Transkei's dependence on South African economic aid.
During his reign, Matanzima arrested state officials and journalists at will; in late 1979, he detained the head of the newly formed Democratic Progressive Party, Sabata Dalindyebo, king of the Thembu people and vocal opponent of apartheid, for violating the dignity and injuring the reputation of the president.[13] Dalindyebo went into exile in Zambia, a move that marked the end of official opposition politics in Transkei,[2] and in the 1981 election, the ruling Transkei National Independence Party was re-elected, gaining 100% of all open seats.[14]
In 1987, there was a coup d'état led by General Bantu Holomisa, the then-leader of the Transkei Defence Force, the homeland's officially sanctioned military units. Though both the South African government and the government of Transkei denied rumours of such a coup,[15] Holomisa became the Head of State,[16] and the Transkei was from that point onwards effectively in (often uneasy) alliance with the African National Congress and provided a relatively safe area for the ANC's activities. In 1990, Holomisa himself evaded a failed attempt to be ousted from his post, and when asked about the fate of his opponents, he claimed that they had died in the ensuing battles with TDF soldiers.[17] It was later found that those deemed responsible for the foiled coup had only suffered minor injuries, but were subsequently executed without trial.[18]
The Transkei government was a participant in the Codesa negotiations for a new South Africa. The territory was reincorporated into South Africa on 27 April 1994, and the area became part of the Eastern Cape province.
| Political Parties in Transkei[2] |
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|---|---|
| Democratic Party (DP) | 1976-1979 |
| Transkei National Independence Party (TNIP) | 1976-1987 |
| New Democratic Party (NDP) | 1976-1979 |
| Transkei People's Freedom Party (TPFP) | 1976-1979 |
| Transkei National Progressive Party (TNPP) | 1978-1979 |
| Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) | 1979-1980 |
Nominally, the Republic of Transkei was a parliamentary democracy which allowed for a multi-party system. During its existence, six different parties registered to compete in elections at different points of its history.[2] Until the military coup of 1987, the TNIP remained the ruling party, while the Transkei People's Freedom Party constituted the official opposition. Because its founder, Cromwell Diko, was a former member of the ruling party, and due to its continued support of President Matanzima's policies, there is a widely held belief that it was actually initiated by Matanzima himself to give the impression of free elections when in fact there were none.[2] Other parties that existed never did gain any representation in parliament.
According to the Constitution of Transkei, parliament consisted of the president in joint session with the National Assembly and its laws and legislative decisions were immune to judicial review.[19] Seventy-five of its members were elected by popular vote from the various districts Transkei's territory was divided into. The remaining members were unelected Paramount Chiefs and ex officio chiefs whose number per district was enshrined in the constitution.[20]
With the establishment of the republic, the citizenry consisted of all those who had been holding the citizenship of the former territory of Transkei. Individuals were given no choice in this matter as the Transkeian constitution was a legally binding act; for the future, it provided citizenship regulations based on both jus sanguinis and jus soli. Citizenship by descent was given along the paternal line, regardless of a person's place of birth; in addition, any individual born within the republic's territory was eligible for citizenship, excluding those whose father held diplomatic immunity or was deemed an illegal immigrant and whose mother was a non-citizen.[21] Dual citizenship at birth was not permitted, and renunciation of one's citizenship was legally possible, but rendered the individual stateless in most cases. In effect, the regulations thus created an almost homogeneous population of Xhosa ethnicity, though exceptions existed.
The Transkei had an area covering a total of 45,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi),[22] and was bordered by the Umtamvuna River in the north and the Great Kei River in the south, while the Indian Ocean and the Drakensberg mountain range of the landlocked kingdom of Lesotho served as the Transkei's respective eastern and western frontiers. A large portion of the area was mountainous and not suitable for agriculture.[23]
The majority of the population was Xhosa-speaking, and according to the Constitution of the Republic of Transkei, Xhosa was the sole official language, but laws had to be translated into Sesotho and English in order for them to come into effect, and Afrikaans was permissible in court proceedings and for other administrative purposes.[24] In addition, many thousands of northern Transkei residents spoke a small hybrid Nguni–Sotho language, called Phuthi.[25]
Conflicting data exist about the number of inhabitants. According to the South African Encyclopaedia, the total population of the Transkei increased from 2,487,000 to 3,005,000 between 1960 and 1970.[26] An estimate of 1982 puts the number at about 2.3 million, with approximately 400,000 citizens residing permanently outside the territory's borders. Less than 10,000 individuals were of European descent, and the urbanization-rate for the entire population was around 5%.[22]
The Transkei Defence Force (TDF) was formed in October 1976 and numbered about 2,000, including one infantry battalion and an air wing with two light transports and two helicopters.[27] By 1993, the number of troops had risen to 4,000.[28] Initial training was provided by the SADF,[29] and despite its diplomatic isolation, the government of Transkei received advice from and collaborated with Israeli counterinsurgency experts.[30] Armscor/Krygkor was its main supplier of weaponry.
After breaking all diplomatic ties with South Africa, President Matanzima announced construction-plans for an international airport by an unnamed French consortium in order for "arms and troops from other countries" to be brought into Transkei without touching South African soil, but did not elaborate on where those resources would originate.[31]
During its last days in 1994, the Transkei Police had 4,993 police officers, operating from 61 police stations throughout the territory.[32]
With the dissolution of Transkei in 1994, the TDF and the Transkei Police were incorporated into the South African National Defence Force and the South African Police Service, respectively.
| Historical states in present-day South Africa |
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
 | Umtata |
| Kaffraria (region, South Africa) |
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Transkei". Read more |
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