1994 Bophuthatswana crisis
The 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis was a major political crisis which began after Lucas Mangope, the president of Bophuthatswana, a nominally independent South African bantustan created under apartheid, attempted to crush widespread labour unrest and popular demonstrations demanding the incorporation of the territory into South Africa pending non-racial elections later that year. Violent protests immediately broke out following President Mangope's announcement on 7 March that Bophuthatswana would boycott the South African general elections. This was escalated by the arrival of right-wing Afrikaner militias seeking to preserve the Mangope government. The predominantly black Bophuthatswana Defence Force and police refused to cooperate with the white extremists and mutinied, then forced the Afrikaner militias to leave Bophuthatswana. The South African military entered Bophuthatswana and restored order on 12 March.
| 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis | |||||||||
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| Part of the internal resistance to apartheid | |||||||||
Map of Bophuthatswana (red) within South Africa. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| BDF mutineers | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Lucas Mangope Constand Viljoen Jan Breytenbach Eugène Terre'Blanche | Unknown | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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Volksfront: 4,500 AWB: 600 | BDF: 5,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Volksfront: 1 killed AWB: 4 killed, 11 wounded | BDF: None | ||||||||
| 67 civilians killed, hundreds wounded | |||||||||
The Bophuthatswana Crisis highlighted the deep unpopularity of the Mangope government and the bantustan system among most of its residents. It has been remembered largely for the televised execution of three Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) militants by a black police officer, Ontlametse Bernstein Menyatsoe. This proved to be a public relations disaster for the AWB and demoralised the movement, which was then intent on preserving white minority rule.