KaNgwane


KaNgwane was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Swazi people. It was called the "Swazi Territorial Authority" from 1976 to 1977. In September 1977 it was renamed KaNgwane and received a legislative assembly. After a temporary suspension of its homeland status during 1982, the legislative assembly was restored in December 1982. KaNgwane was granted nominal self-rule in August 1984. Its capital was at Louieville. It was the least populous of the ten homelands, with an estimated 183,000 inhabitants. Unlike the other homelands in South Africa, KaNgwane did not adopt a distinctive flag of its own but flew the national flag of South Africa.
An attempt to transfer parts of the homeland, along with parts of the Zulu homeland KwaZulu, to the neighbouring country of Swaziland in 1982 was never realized. This would have given land-locked Swaziland access to the sea. The deal was negotiated by the governments, but was met by popular opposition in the territory meant to be transferred. The homeland's territory had been claimed by King Sobhuza of Swaziland as part of the Swazi monarchs' traditional realm, and the South African government hoped to use the homeland as a buffer zone against guerrilla infiltration from Mozambique. South Africa responded to the failure of the transfer by temporarily suspending the autonomy of KaNgwane, then restoring it in December 1982 and granting it nominal self-rule in 1984.
KaNgwane ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 when the Interim Constitution dissolved the homelands and created new provinces. Its territory became part of the province of Mpumalanga.

History

Grand Apartheid in Formation: A Brief History of KaNgwane
The Swazi Territorial Authority was established at Tonga in the Nkomazi Region on
23 April 1976 by the then Deputy Minister of Bantu Affairs, Development and Education,
Dr F. Hartzenberg.
It was established, Pretoria claimed, to cater
for the interests of the Swazis within the borders of the Republic of South Africa.
The first leader of the Swazi Territorial Authority administration was Chief J.M. Dhlamini of the Embhuleni Royal Kraal in Badplaas.
The establishment of the Authority was preceded by disruptive events. In 1975, the forced removals of the people from Kromkrans, Doringkop and elsewhere, in the so-called black spots in white areas, to settlements like Kromdraai started. In 1976, the majority of the people from Kromkrans were settled on the farm Eerstehoek, my birth
place. They were dumped on our fields and grazing land.
The plans for the establishment of the Swazi ‘homeland’ continued, and in October 1977, the Swazi Territorial Authority elected the late Dr E.J. Mabuza to become the Chief Executive Councillor of the ‘homeland’. The ‘homeland’ from there was named KaNgwane
.
Contrasts: KaNgwane and the Inyandza National Movement
The Inyandza National Movement was the governing party of the then KaNgwane
‘homeland’ government. It was founded in October 1978 at Lochiel, a village with no more
than a filling station a few kilometres from the Oshoek border post. It became a critical
driving force of politics. It was through the Inyandza National Movement that KaNgwane
contrasted with other ‘homelands’ and refused independence. Inyandza was formed instead
to politicise and mobilise the masses of our people in furtherance of the aims and objectives
of the liberation movement: on the one hand, through its relationships with the ANC in
exile; and, on the other, through its socio-economic development programme, through
which it sought to uplift the standard of living of the ‘citizens’ of that ‘homeland’.
After the late Dr Enos J. Mabuza assumed office of Chief Executive Councillor of the
‘homeland’, negotiations to be granted the second phase of the ‘homeland’s’ development,
i.e. self-governing status, began. The leadership of KaNgwane had already repeatedly
indicated that the people of KaNgwane were against so-called independence. The
apartheid government of South Africa was however reluctant to grant the self-governing
status to KaNgwane. They wanted to do so on condition that KaNgwane thereafter opt for
Pretoria's offer of independence.
The leadership of KaNgwane refused to accept such a condition, and request after
request for self-governing status received no positive responses from Pretoria. Pretoria
sought to punish KaNgwane for its refusal to co-operate with plans to make ‘homelands’
independent, and KaNgwane began to experience extreme under-funding.
But the Inyandza National Movement had politicised the people. Weekly prayer
meetings and rallies were organised. The leadership of the Inyandza National Movement
intensified the call for the unbanning of the ANC and other political organisations. We
rejected Pretoria's independence completely. The people were mobilised so that when
Pretoria refused to grant self-governing status to KaNgwane, they stood up and defended
their rights. They did not stand up because they believed in the ‘homelands’. They never
desired to opt for independence but to fight until South Africa became free from the
shackles of apartheid. That is why the capital of KaNgwane in Louieville was just a
temporary structure. We did not see any point in building massive and magnificent
structures.
After some time without responding at all to the intensified mobilisation, the
government of South Africa found another way to force independence on KaNgwane: it
announced the incorporation of KaNgwane territory and Ingwavuma region of the then
‘homeland’ of KwaZulu into the Kingdom of Swaziland, the so-called land deal between
the government of the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Districts in 1991

Districts of the province and population at the 1991 census.