Following the defeat of the Venda National Party (VNP) led by the government-appointed Chief Patrick Mphephu in the bantustan election in July, large numbers of the opposition Venda Independence Party (VIP) led by Baldwin Mudau have been arrested. Emergency regulations allowing 90 day detention were proclaimed in 1977.
By the end of August some 47 persons, including 11 members of the VIP (which won 31 out of the 42 elected seats in the election) were in detention. Some of the others held were magistrates who took affidavits from voters about election malpractices. The purpose of the arrests seemed to be to prevent the VIP from taking power in the homeland and installing Mudau as Chief Minister. To do so the support of at least 12 of the 42 nominated tribal members of the legislative assembly was needed. According to Mudau, "the arrests are designed to intimidate those chiefs who had already promised to vote for the VIP. Our members arrested were those involved in canvassing the chiefs". Mudau himself lives in Johannesburg, out of reach of the emergency powers.
Under Mphephu, Venda is scheduled to become the next 'independent homeland', in 1979. He was re-elected Chief Minister when the legislative assembly session opened in September, boycotted by all but two of the VIP members. Shortly afterwards more persons were arrested.
The imposition of a clearly unrepresentative ruling party was criticised by the Rapport newspaper among others, as this is the second time the VNP has been defeated at the polls. In 1973 the VIP won 13 out of 18 elected seats, with the majority of the chiefs being induced to support Mphephu. Venda is strategically placed in the north and east of the Transvaal, separated from the Rhodesian border by a strip of land annexed for defence purposes, and from Mozambique by the Kruger Game Park. According to the Times there are obvious strategic reasons why the South African government wants its own appointees in control in Sibasa, Venda's allotted capital, and why South African security police have been responsible for carrying out the arrests. Mphephu is reported to have said that VIP members who continue to boycott the legislative assembly will be deprived of their seats.
VENDA DETAINEES In addition to the 21 persons from the Venda Bantustan listed in FOCUS 18 p.8, the following were reported detained in August and September (dates approximate)
19-21 August J.T. KGABO VIP member of legislative assembly 15 others (names not given)
27 August S.N. SINYEGWE VIP member of legislative assembly Lawrence KHOROMBI, teacher and religious leader 4 others
17 September M.A. MAZIA, S.N. NETHAVHANI, P. MATSA (VIP Candidates in election) 2 Teachers from Thengwe High School J. NEMUTANDANI, businessman B. TSHIBUBALUME, 'prominent citizen and VIP supporter' Wilson MOIME, businessman.
29 September Mbavhaleho MULOVHEDZI, Emmanuel NEMUFULE, Von Roy THENGA, Nekwevha NGWENANI, Joseph TSHISHONGA (Students at Lwenzhe High School)
This brought the total of those arrested under Venda Proclamation R276 to 61. The detentions were carried out by the SA security police on the orders of the Venda 'Minister of Justice'. Attempts by the press to get the names of all those held were thwarted by the authorities. In addition to the detentions, chieftainess Virginia Tshivhase, mother of Prince Tshivase, about to be installed as chief, was ordered to report daily to the police at Sibasa. One of those arrested on 19 August, Mulingwa Sigwavhulimu, was released at the end of August.
