Venda (Bantustan)

History

Venda was declared self-governing on 1 February 1973, with elections held later in the year. In common with the other Bantustans, its independence was not recognised by the international community.

Venda was initially a series of non-contiguous territories in the Transvaal, with one main part and one main exclave. Its capital, formerly at Sibasa, was moved to Thohoyandou (which included the old Sibasa administrative district) when Venda was declared independent in 1979. Prior to independence, it was expanded to form one contiguous territory, with a total land area of 6,807 km2 (2628 sq. mi.).

At independence in 1979, the population of Venda stood at about 200,000 people. The state was cut off from neighbouring Zimbabwe by the Madimbo corridor, patrolled by South African troops, to the north, and from nearby Mozambique by the Kruger National Park.

The first President of Venda, Patrick Mphephu, was also a Paramount Chief of the Vhavenda people; he was born and lived in Dzanani in Limpopo. His successor, Frank Ravele, was overthrown in a military coup by the Venda Defence Force in 1990. Afterwards, the territory was ruled by the Council of National Unity, a military junta chaired by General Gabriel Ramushwana. Venda was re-incorporated into South Africa on 27 April 1994.

Institutions of education

In 1982, the University of Venda, known as Univen, was established as an institution of higher learning for the Vhavenda people.

Districts in 1991

Districts of the province and population at the 1991 census.

• Dzanani: 123,035
• Mutale: 244,532
• Thohoyandou: 136,089
• Vuwani: 55,141

Security forces

Main article: Venda Defence Force

The Venda National Force was established with Venda's independence in 1979 and included defence and other services such as police and prisons. Strangely enough, traffic policing was part of this national force, but, by 1981, it was transferred to the Department of Justice. The Fire Brigade was, however, still part of the Venda National Force, although there were plans to transfer this to the civilian government.

References

Sources

• Lahiff, E. (2000) An Apartheid Oasis?: Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods in Venda, Routledge. .

References

1. Chapter 2, Section 6, Republic of Venda Constitution Act 1979 "Luvenda, English and Afrikaans shall be the official languages of the Republic of Venda"
2. (1 January 2005). "South Africa's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook". ABC-CLIO.
3. Lahiff, p. 55.
4. [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/South_African_homelands.html Worldstatesman.com] has a chronology of Venda's transition to nominal independence and reintegration into South Africa.
5. Further [[1978 Venda parliamentary election
6. "S. Africa Launches 'Independent Black State' of Venda," in ''[[The Washington Post]],'' 13 September 1979.
7. In the [[1984 Venda parliamentary election
8. [http://www.univen.ac.za/history.php University of Venda website] {{webarchive. link. (4 July 2007 . Retrieved 28 June 2007.)
9. "Census > 1991 > Venda > Variable Description > ... > District code". Statistics South Africa – Nesstar WebView.