Emperor Matanzima

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Emperor Daliwonga Matanzima (born June 15, 1915 in Qamata , Transkei , † June 15, 2003 in Queenstown ) was a South African politician in Transkei .

Life

Matanzima was born into the Thembu rulers ; Nelson Mandela , born in 1918, was his uncle. During the rite of becoming a man , he was given the name Daliwonga , German for "He who makes rulers".

Matanzima spent his primary school in Ntlonze and Qumanco; He obtained secondary school leaving certificate in 1934 at the Lovedale Missionary Institute in Alice . He studied law with Mandela and other later political actors at the South African Native College in Fort Hare, where he was previously able to do his Matric ; In 1940 he acquired a Bachelor of Arts there with a focus on politics and Roman law and in 1940 began to deal with further legal studies. He interrupted this in June of the same year, since he had been elected chief of the Amahala tribe; in addition, government agencies appointed him in 1942 to the council of the Transkei ( United Transkeian Territories General Council , called: Bunga ). In order to be able to continue his legal training again, he resigned from his position in the Bunga in 1944. In 1948 Matanzima passed the admission test as a lawyer.

As the supreme ruler of a branch of Thembu, he supported the introduction of the Bantu Authorities Act by the South African apartheid government in 1951, which prepared the establishment of semi-autonomous Bantustans (homelands). He stood against the stance of the African National Congress (ANC) and other opposition groups that were fighting apartheid. In 1955 it was he who forced a decision in favor of the law in the Bunga.

After the Bantu Authorities Act was passed in 1955 , Matanzima was again a member of the United Transkeian Territories General Council , and in 1956 he was appointed an executive member of the newly formed Transkeian Territorial Authority . From 1961 he was chairman of the committee. In December 1962, he survived an assassination attempt by members of the Pan Africanist Congress's underground organization Poqo . In 1963 he became the first chief minister of the Transkeian Legislative Assembly and founded the Transkei National Independence Party, which won the parliamentary elections in Transkei in 1968 and 1973.

In 1966 the South African government appointed him Paramount Chief , which subsequently sparked a controversial discussion, as this procedure was in contradiction to the previous practice of tribal law.

In 1976 the Transkei became formally independent, Matanzima its first prime minister . He suppressed the opposition parties and bought land from the South African government at dumping prices . In 1977, during his first state visit to the South African government, the focus was on questions about the future practice of granting Transkei citizenship for external applicants, the general handling of relevant Transkei certificates in South Africa, and land claims in Griqualand East . Because of these territorial claims for the Transkei, disputes developed with the government of South Africa, which were ultimately not met by Pretoria. On February 2, 1978, he broke off diplomatic relations with the neighboring country and was the only supporter, canceled the non-aggression pact and sent all soldiers sent by the South African Defense Force back to South Africa. As a result of political pressure from South Africa, Matanzima had to withdraw the measures. In May 1978 he had the Methodist Church of Southern Africa banned under the Transkei Unlawful Organizations Act . In their place, however, the Methodist Church of Transkei was formed .

In 1979 he succeeded Botha Sigcau as President of the Transkei, his brother George Matanzima followed him as Prime Minister. 1,980 demonstrators were arrested again and opposition parties, including the Democratic Progressive Party of Sabata Dalindyebo , spellbound . Sabata Dalindyebo lost his rights as a traditional ruler and joined the ANC in exile . In addition, internal party critics and unpopular journalists and students were persecuted. Nelson Mandela's then father-in-law belonged to his cabinet. Matanzima offered Mandela a release from prison, combined with a restriction of residence to the Transkei. Mandela, who called him a "traitor in the truest sense of the word," declined, assuming that international rejection of South African homeland politics could be softened.

Matanzima, together with other homeland representatives, rejected the draft of the South African constitution of 1983 , initiated by Prime Minister Pieter Willem Botha , because it intended to exclude the black African population from political participation. He also criticized the inhumane control mechanisms of the labor market in South Africa and called for a national agreement to achieve non-racist democracy.

On February 20, 1986 Matanzima had to resign because of corruption , his successor as president was Tutor Nyangelizwe Vulindlela Ndamase; George Matanzima remained Prime Minister for over a year. In 1987, Emperor Matanzima was imprisoned and his area of ​​residence was subsequently limited to Qamata. In 2003 he died in a Queenstown hospital . The then President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki , praised him in his mourning address.

family

Since 1954 Matanzima was married to Nozuko Jayinja. The marriage resulted in 4 sons and 5 daughters.

Works

  • 1975: Independence My Way. Foreign Affairs Association, Pretoria, ISBN 0908397054 .

Honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f portrait at sahistory-org.za (English), accessed on June 6, 2017
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Shelag Gastrow: Who's Who in South African politics . Ravan Press, Johannesburg 1986, ISBN 0-86975-280-4 , pp. 178-180.
  3. ↑ Timeline at underprotest.net (English), accessed on June 7, 2017
  4. ^ Clifton Crais: The politics of evil: magic, state power and the political imagination in South Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002, ISBN 0521817218 , pp. 210f. Excerpts from books.google.de
  5. ^ SAIRR : Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1977 . Johannesburg 1978, pp. 340-343
  6. ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1978 . Johannesburg 1979, p. 284
  7. ↑ Mbeki hails ruthless Matanzima at funeral. iol.co.za, June 22, 2003, accessed June 7, 2017
  8. ^ Sheila Keeble (ed.), SPP Kutumela, A. Booley: The Black Who's Who of Southern Africa Today . Johannesburg 1979, p. 179
  9. ↑ http://www.caa.co.za/Aeronautical%20Charts/Mthatha%20-%20FAUT/FAUT_AERODROME%20CHART_AD-01%2024JUL2014.pdf ( Memento from October 4, 2014 on WebCite ) at caa.co.za ( English)
predecessor Office successor
Botha Sigcau President of the Homeland Transkei
January 1979 to February 20, 1986 		February 20, 1986 Tutor Nyangilizwe Vulindlela Ndamase
personal data
SURNAME Matanzima, emperor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Matanzima, Emperor Daliwonga (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Qamata , Transkei , South African Union
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 2003
Place of death Queenstown , South Africa