Fragments of the Past: Homeland Politics and the South African Transition, 1990–2014

During South Africa's constitutional negotiations in the 1990s, it was assumed that the self-governing ‘homelands’ would inevitably be re-incorporated into a new South Africa, whatever that may be. Despite being denigrated by the liberation movements throughout their existence, some homelands would become aligned to the African National Congress (ANC) at apartheid's close: the Transkei, led by General Bantu Holomisa, became a particular base of support. KwaZulu (through the Inkatha Freedom Party IFP and its leader, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi) and Bophuthatswana (led by Lucas Mangope), on the other hand, would become key players in oppositional alliances, first the Concerned South Africans Group (COSAG) and later the Freedom Alliance. KwaZulu/IFP argued for a distinctly federal dispensation, in addition to recognition of the Zulu king. Bophuthatswana, similarly, argued for a confederal state. In 1994, however, four provinces became nine, and the former homelands were no more. Bantu Holomisa became a popular figure within the ANC and, later, leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM). Chief Buthelezi would become a minister in the Government of National Unity. The United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP), formed by Lucas Mangope, became a presence in the South African parliament and North West provincial legislature. This article analyses the role of these three homelands during the negotiations process, looking at the continued salience of their politics since 1994 and the problematic legacies for provincial governance in the post-apartheid era. It also shows the problematic narrative that has accompanied the homelands, and their continued relevance in the post-apartheid state almost 20 years after their official demise.