Topic 4

• CODESA negotiations


  • Creation of CODESA 2 in May 1992
  • Create a working model for a new constitution → failed
  • Mandela: the National Party is seeking to hold on to power
  • De Klerk was involved in battles within his own party to hold on as much power as possible for as long as possible
  • During meetings with advisers de Klerk would occasionally refuse to countenance various suggestions for future non-racial democracy → no coherent agenda
  • Discussions between de Klerk and other groups were fraught
  • E.g. both the ANC and National Party supported the idea of a multi-party interim government → National Party: all the parties should have the right to veto; ANC: decisions taken by a majority should be accepted by all
  • Led to stalemate on 16 May 1992 → meetings resumed under pressure from US President Clinton
  • Multi-Party Negotiating Forum (MPNF) → allocated the issue to eleven technical experts to solve
  • Transitional Executive Council → facilitate the election and instillation of a new interim government
• Relationship between Mandela and de Klerk

  • Jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993
  • Commentators felt a tension between them despite Mandela praising de Klerk's role at the ceremony
  • Agreed a new constitution → political opponents in the ensuing elections
  • Negotiators at lower levels often worked well together
  • Principal delegates Cyril Ramaphosa (ANC) and Roelf Meyer (National Party) developed a particular good rapport
  • Mandela: he and de Klerk did not have to like each other to work together → determination
• Record of Understanding


  • Issued on 26 September 1992
  • Based on 3 principles: (1) Release all political prisoners (2) Physical restrictions on Zulu hostel dwellers who were held responsible for many of the Inkatha-inspired murders and attacks (3) Banning of traditional weapons (e.g. pangas) that many carried openly
  • Agreement on future government
  • Guarantee employment and pension rights for existing public employees
  • Power sharing between the leading parties
  • February 1993, Mandela: a future government would be one of 'National Unity' + include members of all parties which received more than 5% of the vote
  • Easy to negotiate a final settlement
  • Not so easy so sell it to members of the ANC/National Party → continued to distrust each other
  • Let alone the Conservative Party/Inkatha → refused to have anything to do with it
• Constitutional agreement and elections

  • September 1993, the Transitional Executive Council was set up
  • To facilitate the new political system
  • Principal goal: ensure protection for minorities while accepting majority rule
  • Creation of a rainbow nation in which everyone would be valued irrespective of race
  • The principles of the Freedom Charter of 1955
• Withdrawal of Inkatha


  • ANC and National Party agreed to reach agreement between themselves before taking proposals to minority parties
  • Buthelezi pulled Inkatha out in protest + did not return until days before the election for the interim government (finally ratified by the MPNF on 18 November 1993)
• Incursion into Bophuthatswana (10 March 1994)


  • 600 AWB members raided Bophuthatswana to rescue and reinstate the chief Lucas Mangope → opposed the peace settlement + arrested by the local forces who supported the ANC
  • The raid was unstructured: participants fired randomly at suspected ANC supporters before routed by Bophuthatswana forces
  • The fiasco saw the demise of the AWB + arrest of Mangope
• Continued communal violence


  • 17 June 1992: Inkatha members killed 46 suspected ANC supporters in Boipatong → security forces did nothing to prevent this
  • Mandela suspended negotiations with de Klerk
  • COSATU and SACP organised mass protests which brought South Africa to a halt
  • A march of 100,000 protesters led by Nelson Mandela demonstrated outside government headquarters in Pretoria
  • 7 September 1992: 70,000 ANC supporters marched to Bisho (capital of Ciskei)
  • Leader Oupa Gqozo wished to maintain independence
  • Ciskei forces opened fire → killing 30
  • 10 April 1993: Leader of MK, Chris Hani, was murdered by a white extremist
  • An incendiary event → Hani was a hero to many (esp. young people) because of his efforts to maintain the armed struggle from exile
  • Calmed only when the culprit had been caught on the evidence of a white witness
  • The ANC organised rallies and demonstrations in which people would have the opportunity to vent their frustrations in a controlled environment
  • De Klerk condemned white extremists
• The new constitution


  • Offered a centralised state as an interim system for 5 years
  • South Africa would be divided into 9 provinces, each with its own elected government + civil service
  • A Bill of Rights would be protected by a Constitutional Court
  • The new system could only be amended by a two-thirds majority of the popular vote
  • Guaranteed power sharing for 5 years
  • President would come from the leading party; deputy president could come from any party with over 20% of the vote
  • Any party with more than 5% could have a minister appointed from it
  • Fully democratic system with appropriate checks and balances on the power of government
  • An independent judiciary to prevent any abuses/actions of their legal powers by governments
• Elections (27 April 1994)


  • The ANC won convincingly (as expected) with 62.5% of the vote
  • The National Party won 20.5% → de Klerk became deputy president
  • Inkatha gained 10.5% → Buthelezi became a government minister
  • The PAC (advocated continual violence) won only 1.25%
  • Hugely anticipated
  • Overwhelming amount of people had voted for a peaceful and enduring settlement
• Nationalist divisions and communal violence

  • Many white people were naturally feared for their future
  • Concerned for their safety in the event of an African backlash, e.g. many PAC members had been chanting 'One settler, one bullet'
  • Feared for their livelihoods as Africans became more skilled + could compete openly for jobs
  • Relied on the bureaucracy of apartheid/security forces for employment
  • The 'sunset clause' proposed by Joe Slovo → offered some reassurance to future employment and pensions
• The Government of National Unity

  • Nelson Mandela became the president
  • South Africa faced huge problems
  • 45 years of apartheid could not simply be effaced by a new constitution
  • Many Africans were frustrated by the slow pace of change
  • They lacked the education and skills to access most opportunities
  • Crime remained high
  • Many white people opted to leave
  • Newly appointed public servants were accused of corruption
  • Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "massive homelessness, with seven million living in ghetto shacks"
  • The transition to democracy was successful
  • No serious threats to the new system
  • The ANC increasingly lacked any effective opposition
  • The National Party fragmented (esp. after the retirement of de Klerk in 1997) → too burdened with the past to offer a new profile
  • Mandela's main task: unify the country
  • Galvanised country-wide support for the national rugby team
  • Won the 1995 World Cup to great acclaim
  • A Truth and Reconciliation Committee set up in 1996 under the leadership of Archbishop Tutu
  • Role: to investigate wrongdoings by all sides → confront the past and move forward peacefully
• International recognition


  • Representatives of 170 nations attended Nelson Mandela's inauguration as president in April 1994
  • South Africa enjoyed widespread international support
  • The personality of Nelson Mandela → became a world elder statesman applauded everywhere
  • Nelson Mandela's legacy continued after he retired despite the problems of South Africa remained unsolved
  • Countries recognised the considerable achievement in moving peacefully to democracy after so many years of conflict
  • While tensions were evident, few rejected the settlement
• The political settlement was successful in terms of international recognition and elections but unsuccessful in terms of Nelson Mandela's leadership
• United Democratic Front (UDF)

  In August 1983, 575 organisations founded the UDF with the ultimate goal of a new SA government based on the Freedom Charter
• UDF


  • Achievements: abandonment of the Bantustans
  • Support as high as 2 million, felt as if responding to Oliver Tambo's exhortation to make SA ungovernable
• Protest strategies used by the UDF

  • Strikes
  • Marches, protests and demonstrations
  • Petitions
• In 1983-84, Ciskei workers boycotted the buses taking them to work in the city of East London
• UDF


  • Advantage: no obvious national figures to arrest/ban
  • Disadvantage: UDF-sponsored organisations were unable to stem a growing rate of violence
• In 1984, in violent demonstrations against rent increases in Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging area, 175 people were killed
• In 1985, over 800 people were killed as a result of political activity
• Increased black-on-black violence, e.g. Inkatha emerged - migrant workers living w/o family in barrack-hostels (Inkatha) vs. residents of the townships (ANC), Inkatha was assisted from the security forces in their attacks of ANC supporters
• Total Onslaught


  In 1977, Defence Minister, PW Botha stated that SA was facing a Total Onslaught – attacked by communist forces supported by the USSR
• Total Strategy


  This could only be combated by a Total Strategy – restructuring gov with emphasis on security
• In 1979, Botha established a National Management System with 4 cabinets: 1) economic affairs 2) social affairs 3) constitutional affairs 4) security
• Police and arm forces worked together, supported at local levels by joint management committees, sharing information, planning joint operations, clandestine operations etc.
• ARMSCOR was set up to bypass the world boycott on arms sales to SA and developed the country's own arm industries
• Joint local management centres

  Tasked with gaining hard intelligence (knowledge of plots & insurrections) and soft intelligence (ascertaining local grievances)
• The police force numbered 50,000
• In 1987, the Civilian Co-operation Bureau was established to identify enemies of the state and security forces acted, e.g. assassinated anti-apartheid critic David Webster, May 1989
• Security forces infiltrated activists using spies & collaborators, opened fire on demonstrators - in 1986, 500 black people were shot dead by police
• Role of security forces

  • Became almost a state within a state
  • Made 40 political assassinations
  • Made raids in neighbouring countries, e.g. Mozambique, and Zimbabwe
  • Gave help to vigilante groups responsible for 90% of unrest-related deaths
• In 1985, the 'Phakitis' terrorised those supporting schools boycott in the Orange Free State
• In 1988, vigilante groups were blamed for the deaths of 1200 people in the Edendale Valley (a centre of unrest & ANC support in Natal)
• Covert assistance to Inkatha cadres & 'third force' cooperated with Inkatha in the murder of thirteen members of the family of ANC activist Victor Ntuli
• Suppression of protest


  • More people arrested & died in custody
  • Internal Security Act (1982) allowed anyone to be investigated & people banned w/o the need of investigation
  • Censorship extended, Inquest Act (1982) outlawed the reportage of deaths in custody & criticism of the security forces was banned under the Police Act
• By the later 1980s, Botha realised that the policy of Total Strategy had failed


  The aim of Total Strategy was to defeat the ANC and bring order back to South Africa
• South Africa's economy was struggling, partly as a result of economic sanctions, with inflation rising from 11% in 1983 to 18% in 1986
• News of government operations served only to harden world opinion against South Africa and give support to opposition groups
• There was no end to the violence in the townships
• The security forces seemed unable to prevent the ANC and other groups committing acts of terror within South Africa e.g. attacking bars popular with members of the security forces, with the number of incidents rising from 45 in 1984 to 281 in 1988