Reports from the Ciskei bantustan indicate that the degree of repression is being intensified. The head of state security in the area claimed in December 1982 that 'the total budget of the Department of State Security was plus minus R12 million' and was 'manned by well over 887 men'. There have been a number of security operations aimed at government opponents, many of them members of SAAWU which was described as 'not a union' but 'the ANC'. As well as political trials and detentions there were instances of the widespread use of paramilitary forces.
During December 1982 there were a number of armed raids on the houses of people whom the authorities described as 'activists'. Trade unionists were particularly affected, prompting Jan Theron of the Food and Canning Workers Union (FCWU) to state that they would consider 'any means we have to expose the actions of Ciskei against the unions, including approaching international finance which (Chief Lennox) Sebe is trying to attract through his offers of cheap labour'.
In the early hours of 16 December, Heroes Day, Sebenzile MDYOGOLO was detained at the home of his brother Yure, who is East London branch secretary of the South African Allied Workers Union (SAAWU). Police searched the house for literature and asked questions about the African National Congress (ANC). The homes of the following trade unionists were also raided: Bonisile NORUSHE, branch secretary of the African Food and Canning Workers Union (AFCWU); David THANDANI, branch secretary of the General Workers Union (GWUSA), Thozamile GOWETA, President of SAAWU, and Eric MNTONGA of the same union.
The same night police raided the home of J CITEKO, a former ANC member who was resettled in Mdantsane after serving a sentence on Robben Island. They showed interest in his wife's membership of the United Women's Organisation (UWO).
On 30 December 1982 further raids resulted in the detention of Mzwandile MSOKI, an official of the Border Council of Churches who has been detained on a number of previous occasions. Bonisile Norushe's house was again searched and Zodwa MAPHELA of UWO was questioned.
The raids were carried out by a joint force of police and members of the paramilitary 'Sword of the Nation' squad which was established during 1982. Authorities in the bantustan claimed the special force was necessary to combat 'terrorists' based in Lesotho and the Transkei. It was envisaged they would operate outside the Ciskei alongside other South African forces. They have been used in a number of operations against Sebe's opponents.
NEW LAW
The Ciskei bantustan has strengthened its repressive machinery in a number of ways since its fraudulent independence from South Africa in December 1981. In August 1982 a new National Security Act was enacted. Based partly on the recommendations of the Rabie Commission, it repealed 34 earlier acts including Emergency Proclamation R252. In future, detentions by the Ciskei Central Intelligence Services (CCIS) will be under the NSA. The new act invested great power in the person of Charles Sebe. During 1982 he underwent a number of promotions so that by January 1983 he was Lieutenant-General Sebe, Commander in Chief of State Security and head of all the armed forces in the Ciskei. Under the NSA his position entitles him, amongst other things, to decide what slogans, songs and salutes are banned, what newspapers may be registered, and who is to be restricted or detained.
The relationship between the Ciskei Central Intelligence Services (CCIS) and the regular security police belies the proclaimed 'independence' of the Ciskei. CCIS officers, together with their security police colleagues, detained and questioned people outside the boundaries of the bantustan area. In late November there was a controversy over roadblocks erected by Ciskeian forces on the road leading to King Williams Town aimed at intercepting politicians from the Transkei bantustan on their way to a political rally. Roadblocks were also extensively used in a number of raids on houses in Mdantsane.
