Editing Transkei (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of South Africa|Apartheid}}

===Establishment===
The South African government set up the area as one of the two [[Bantustan|''homelands'']] for [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]-speaking people in [[Cape Province]], the other being [[Ciskei]]; it was given nominal autonomy by Prime Minister [[Hendrik Verwoerd]] in 1963. Although the first election was contested and won by the [[Democratic Party (South Africa)|Democratic Party]], whose founder Chief [[Victor Poto]] was opposed to the notion of Bantustan independence,<ref name=sa_dem_ed780>{{citation |editor=South African Democracy Education Trust |title=The Road to Democracy in South Africa: 1970–1980 |year=2006 |publisher=Unisa Press |location=Pretoria |isbn=1-86888-406-6 |page=780 }}</ref> the government was formed by the [[Transkei National Independence Party]]. Of the 109 members in the regional parliament, 45 were elected and 64 were held by [[ex officio]] chiefs.<ref>{{Citation |publisher=EISA |year=2002 |title=South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements |url=http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/soubg2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509080718/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/soubg2.htm |archive-date=9 May 2013}}</ref>

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 by the other nominally independent republics within the [[Bantustan|TBVC]]-system. [[Kaiser Matanzima|Chief Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima]] was Transkei's [[List of heads of government of Transkei|Prime Minister]] until 1979, when he assumed the office of [[List of heads of state of Transkei|President]], a position he held until 1986.

====International reaction====
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."<ref>{{Citation |last=Vorster |first=B. J. |title=Message to Transkei on the eve of Independence, July 1976 |work=Selected Speeches |url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/library-resources/speeches/vorster-speeches/1976-transkei.htm |access-date=11 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326062757/http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/library-resources/speeches/vorster-speeches/1976-transkei.htm |archive-date=26 March 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Quote box
  | quote  = 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 [...].
  | source = [[Kaiser Matanzima]]<ref>Barber, James. ''South Africa in the Twentieth Century.'' Blackwell Publishers. Oxford:1999.  p186</ref>
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{{Quote box
  | quote  = The General Assembly rejects the declaration of "independence" of the Transkei and declares it invalid.
  | source = [[United Nations General Assembly]]<ref name=un>{{Citation |publisher=General Assembly of the United Nations, 42nd plenary meeting |date=26 October 1976 |title=Resolution A/RES/31/6 A |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/31/ares31.htm |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626121912/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/31/ares31.htm |archive-date=26 June 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
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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]]".<ref>{{Citation|date=26 October 1976|title=Statement by the African National Congress GA/5498|url=http://www.anc.org.za/un/pr/pr1026-76.html|access-date=11 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907220746/http://www.anc.org.za/un/pr/pr1026-76.html|archive-date=7 September 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> During its thirty-first session, in resolution A/RES/31/6 A, the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly of the United Nations]] referred to Transkei's "sham independence" as "invalid," re-iterated its labelling 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."<ref name=un /> An article published in ''[[Time Magazine]]'' opined that though Transkei declared independence theoretically as a "free Black state", Matanzima ruled as the dictator of a [[one-party state]]. He banned local opposition parties and bought farmlands for himself and his family offered by the South African government at subsidised prices.<ref>{{Citation|date=25 October 1976|title=The Transkei Puppet Show|newspaper=[[TIME Magazine]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918444,00.html|access-date=25 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230063252/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918444,00.html|archive-date=30 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Matanzima 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 liberation struggle chosen by the [[African National Congress]] would not be successful.<ref>{{citation |last=Matanzima |first=Kaiser D. |title=Independence my Way |year=1976 |publisher=Foreign Affairs Association |location=Pretoria |isbn=0-908397-05-4 }}</ref>

The [[United Nations Security Council]] supported moves not to recognise Transkei, and in [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 402|Resolution 402]] (1976) condemned moves by South Africa to pressure [[Lesotho]] to recognise Transkei by closing its borders with the country.

===Troubled existence===
Throughout its existence, Transkei's economy remained dependent on [[Economy of South Africa|that of its larger neighbour]], with the local population being recruited as workers into South Africa's [[Witwatersrand|Rand]] mines.<ref>{{citation |last=Bush |first=Barbara |title=Imperialism, race, and resistance: Africa and Britain, 1919–1945 |year=1999 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=0-415-15973-3 |page=147 }}</ref>

Because of a territorial dispute,<ref>{{Citation |last1=Wood |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Mills |first2=Greg |year=1992 |title=The present and future role of the Transkei defence force in a changing South Africa |journal=Journal of Contemporary African Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=255–269 |doi=10.1080/02589009208729541 }}</ref> Matanzima announced on 10 April 1978 that Transkei would break all diplomatic ties with South Africa,<ref>{{Citation |last=Burns |first=John F. |date=11 April 1978 |title=Transkei Breaks Diplomatic Tie, Its Only One, With South Africans |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/11/archives/new-jersey-pages-transkei-breaks-diplomatic-tie-its-only-one-with.html |access-date=22 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722214202/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/11/archives/new-jersey-pages-transkei-breaks-diplomatic-tie-its-only-one-with.html |archive-date=22 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 Defence Force]] 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 rule, Matanzima arrested state officials and journalists at will; in late 1979, he detained the head of the newly formed ''[[Democratic Progressive Party (Transkei)|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.<ref>{{citation |editor=South African Democracy Education Trust |title=The Road to Democracy in South Africa: 1970–1980 |year=2006 |publisher=Unisa Press |location=Pretoria |isbn=1-86888-406-6 |page=778 }}</ref> Dalindyebo went into exile in [[Zambia]], a move that marked the end of [[Parliamentary opposition|official opposition politics]] in Transkei,<ref name=sa_dem_ed780 /> and in the 1981 election, the ruling ''Transkei National Independence Party'' was re-elected, gaining 100% of all open seats.<ref>{{Citation|title=Elections in Apartheid-Era Black Homelands "Bantustans"|url=http://africanelections.tripod.com/za_homelands.html|access-date=11 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607022954/http://africanelections.tripod.com/za_homelands.html|archive-date=7 June 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 20 February 1986, faced with South African evidence of corruption, Matanzima was forced to retire as president. He was succeeded by his brother [[George Matanzima|George]]. Kaiser Matanzima was still described as Transkei's effective leader for a time,<ref name=dispatch>{{cite news |title=Leader of Tribe Seizes S. African Rebel's Body |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/04/21/leader-of-tribe-seizes-s-african-rebels-body/ |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=21 April 1986 |access-date=9 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714202244/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-04-21/news/8601290013_1_tribal-nelson-mandela-body |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> but soon the two fell out and Kaiser was temporarily detained in the Transkei gaols in 1987; upon release, he was restricted to [[Qamata, Eastern Cape|Qamata]].

In 1987, Transkei, a larger, wealthier and more populous entity, had long sought the annexation of Ciskei, and had undertaken a series of military raids on Ciskei.<ref name="ucPressCiskeivsTranskei">{{Cite web |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft158004rs&chunk.id=d0e9770&toc.id=d0e9714&brand=ucpress |title=The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812043723/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft158004rs&chunk.id=d0e9770&toc.id=d0e9714&brand=ucpress |archive-date=12 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ucThreatTranskei">{{Cite web |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft158004rs&chunk.id=d0e9922&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e9714&brand=ucpress |title=The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812044002/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft158004rs&chunk.id=d0e9922&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e9714&brand=ucpress |archive-date=12 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> This included an attack on leader Lennox Sebe's compound, with the apparent goal of taking him hostage, in order to force a merger of the two Bantustans.<ref name="waPoHomelandsDoBattle">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/02/20/2-south-african-homelands-do-battle/a6765fb9-de59-4ad1-bdb0-06c78e7e501c/ |title=2 SOUTH AFRICAN 'HOMELANDS' DO BATTLE - the Washington Post |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812085710/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/02/20/2-south-african-homelands-do-battle/a6765fb9-de59-4ad1-bdb0-06c78e7e501c/ |archive-date=12 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The South African government intervened to warn the Transkei government off.<ref name="ucPressCiskeivsTranskei"/>

General [[Bantu Holomisa]] of the [[Transkei Defence Force]] forced the resignation and [[exile]] of Prime Minister [[George Matanzima]] in October 1987<ref name=dd>{{cite news|first=Abongile|last=Mgaqelwa|title=Matanzima dies after hijack|url=http://www.dispatch.co.za/11815/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130808011338/http://www.dispatch.co.za/11815/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-08-08|work=[[Daily Dispatch]]|date=2013-08-08|access-date=2013-08-31}}</ref><ref name=sahistory>{{cite news |title=Chief George Mzimvubu Mathanzima, former Prime Minister of Transkei, dies |url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/chief-george-mzimvubu-mathanzima-former-prime-minister-transkei-dies |work=South Africa History Online |date=2000-11-10 |access-date=2013-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163543/http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/chief-george-mzimvubu-mathanzima-former-prime-minister-transkei-dies |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and then overthrew Matanzima's successor, [[Prime Minister]] [[Stella Sigcau]] in [[1987 Transkei coup d'état|a bloodless coup d'état]]<ref name="mg2006">
{{cite news
|title=Stella Sigcau dead at 69
|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2006-05-08-stella-sigcau-dead-at-69
|publisher=Mail&Guardian
|date=2006-05-08
|access-date=2007-12-14
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714154326/http://mg.co.za/article/2006-05-08-stella-sigcau-dead-at-69
|archive-date=14 July 2014
|url-status=live}}
</ref> in December 1987. Holomisa became the Head of State,<ref>{{Citation|title=General Bantubonke Harrington "Bantu" Holomisa (profile)|url=http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/Pages/profilefull.aspx?IndID=950|work=Who's Who in Southern Africa|publisher=24.com|access-date=2009-07-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117204239/http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/Pages/profilefull.aspx?IndID=950|archive-date=17 November 2007}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Citation |date=23 November 1990 |title=Black Homeland reports uprising |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/23/world/black-homeland-reports-uprising.html |access-date=20 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206174733/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/23/world/black-homeland-reports-uprising.html |archive-date=6 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was later found that those deemed responsible for the foiled coup had only suffered minor injuries, but were subsequently executed without trial.<ref>{{Citation |publisher=South African Press Association |date=19 June 1996 |title=Truth Body hears startling new claims on Transkei coup attempt |url=http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/media/1996/9606/s960619e.htm |access-date=12 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050111224934/http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/media/1996/9606/s960619e.htm |archive-date=11 January 2005 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Dissolution===
{{Main|Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa}}

The Transkei government was a participant in the [[Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa|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.

The Transkei Penal Code, 1983 still applies between the [[Great Kei River|Kei River]] and the border with [[KwaZulu-Natal]], and persons who are charged with crimes in that area are prosecuted under the code.<ref name="ruPenalCodeAbolished2013">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ru.ac.za/latestnews/archives/2013/transkeipenalcodecanbeabolished.html#:~:text=The%20Transkei%20Penal%20Code%20came,Transkei%20region%20was%20highly%20influential.|title=Transkei Penal Code can be abolished|date=15 July 2011}}</ref>