The issues which provoked a mutiny in February, together with other campaigns against the bantustan system in the Bophuthatswana bantustan, continued to confront the authorities despite repression against their opponents.
The mutiny was organised by members of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF), supported by the People's Progressive Party (PPP). They objected to senior positions in the BDF being occupied by white officers seconded from the South African Defence Force (SADF), and expressed opposition to fighting in Namibia and southern Angola. They considered the bantustan authorities to be fraudulent, corrupt and dictatorial. Although they enjoyed popular support the SADF swiftly suppressed their action.
In the aftermath of the mutiny 446 people were detained, including some traditional leaders. The University of Bophuthatswana was closed down following a class boycott in support of the mutiny. The SADF mounted road blocks and harassed villagers, especially residents of Bafokeng and Mogwase. Women vegetable vendors in Winterveldt were detained for celebrating the mutiny and their business operations were terminated.
In March a number of legislative changes were made which had a direct effect on those detained for participation in the mutiny. The bantustan's constitution was amended to impede detainees from challenging their detention in the Supreme Court if doing so might 'prejudice government investigations into charges of conspiracy, rebellion, treason or insurrection.' Mangope the head of the bantustan administration was given power to delay any hearings for a maximum of three months. Other amendments extended indefinitely the awaiting-trial period for such cases and gave the bantustan's 'Minister of Law and Order' increased powers to restrict access to those being held for 'plotting to overthrow the state', so making legal representation more difficult. Separate legislation specifically excluded people facing charges of treason or sedition from applying for legal aid and gave police the power, in certain circumstances, to arrest without warrant.
By March over 300 mutineers had appeared in court charged with high treason or violating the bantustan's Internal Security Act. A mass trial of 195 alleged mutineers who included Lucky SEKAME, the former deputy commissioner of police and head of the National Security Unit, and Warrant Officer Timothy PHIRI began in August. Seven high ranking members of the BDF were charged separately.
In a separate trial underway in November, nine leading members of the PPP were also charged with treason. Lawyers for those charged based their defence on the fact that the Bophuthatswana bantustan is not a recognised independent state.
In June the bantustan authorities reopened the university, having closed it after the mutiny. Rules stipulating that students must display registration cards sparked further boycotts and demonstrations in September. Students clashed with police who fired teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. An unspecified number of students were detained. The Students Representative Council (SRC) said that the students who were on campus when the police arrived, were waiting for transport home. In October, 123 students appeared in Mmabatho Magistrates' Court on charges under the bantustan's Internal Security Act. They were released from custody and asked to appear in court at a later date. The vice-chancellor refused a request from the SRC and staff to negotiate with the students.
Mangope personally supervised the expulsion of seven students from Bophuthatswana's Manpower Centre following their identification in photographs showing them celebrating the news of the mutiny. The students, who were picked out in a specially convened meeting attended by Mangope, were detained briefly by police for interrogation before being taken away to their homes by police escort. Mangope insisted that the students sing the bantustan's anthem.
Civil servants known to have supported the mutiny, and those who were known members of the PPP, were dismissed. In September the authorities removed Samuel Morwagabusi Mankuroane, the traditional leader of Taung from his position. This was in breach of a Supreme Court order. The youth of Taung in a letter to the Sowetan in June had pledged their support for Mankuroane and Sebopedi, another traditional leader opposed to Mangope.
Political meetings, except those of the ruling Bophuthatswana Democratic Party (BDP), were banned for the duration of 1988. In August the authorities banned the opposition PPP, effectively making the ruling BDP the only party in the bantustan legislative assembly.
The government would not divulge how many SADF members were seconded to Bophuthatswana, or involved in supporting the mutiny, but it was clear that the SADF had reasserted control over the area. The Bophuthatswana bantustan authorities continued to assist the police in the clampdown on guerrillas as indicated by the 'extradition' to South Africa of Thomelang MAAPE, detained on 6 November 1987. The South African Minister of Law and Order said that ANC guerrillas were infiltrating through two areas of Bophuthatswana and that this would be dealt with soon. Although there appear to be few major political trials arising out of armed actions in the bantustan's own courts, many detainees picked up in Bophuthatswana are handed over to the South African Police for interrogation and trial without any formal extradition procedure. At least three political activists face execution in Bophuthatswana: Daisy MODISE (25), Thomas CHAUKE (27) and Johannes TSHABALALA (18) all members of the Stinkwater Youth Organisation who were convicted in 1987 of participating in 'people's courts and necklacing'.
