The retention of the State of Emergency in Natal after it lapsed elsewhere on 8 June provoked an angry reaction from those campaigning to end political violence there. With local peace talks stalled, other methods were adopted including public marches and a national stayaway, aimed at pressurising the government into acting decisively to end the violence. Following Inkatha's launch as a national political party on 15 July however, the violence spread to areas outside Natal.
The violence in Natal, which between January and June this year claimed 612 lives, has increased during the period of emergency rule. The State of Emergency gives additional wide-ranging powers to the police against whom there is overwhelming evidence of complicity in fuelling the violence, targetted mainly at opponents of the regime and the bantustan system. The retention of the State of Emergency was regarded by many organisations involved in attempts to stop the violence as a measure which would exacerbate the situation.
Although Gatsha Buthelezi, the president of Inkatha and Chief Minister of the Kwazulu bantustan, portrays the organisation as a proponent of peace and multi-party politics, the bantustan police and Inkatha act in intimidatory and violent ways.
Further evidence of collaboration between Inkatha and the Kwazulu police emerged during June and July. When a Kwazulu bantustan official, the 'Minister of the Interior', Steven Sithebe, visited Mphophomeni to address local residents at a poorly-attended meeting, a large contingent of heavily-armed Inkatha supporters arrived. A member of the Mphophomeni Residents Association, fearing for the safety of the residents, insisted that a police officer disarm them, but instead he himself was threatened with arrest.
In July, six families from Kwamakhutha secured court injunctions preventing the Kwazulu Police from assaulting, harassing and intimidating them following weeks of systematic violent attacks on their community by Inkatha and the police. One Kwamakhutha resident, Sipho MKHIZE was shot dead while in the custody of the Kwazulu police — he was shot as police were driving him away from the scene of arrest in a car associated with local hit squads. On 9 July in Enseleni township vigilantes, many thought to be Inkatha members, attacked 11 homes, including that of Jeffrey VILANE, the regional chair of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), shortly after the South African Police had conducted a house-to-house search for weapons.
The New Nation newspaper discovered that a statement issued in July by the Inkatha Youth Brigade was distributed from a fax machine owned by the Pietermaritzburg Security Branch.
Only days after Inkatha was launched as a national political party (formerly it was effectively a regional organisation, based on the Kwazulu bantustan), violence spread to other areas, including the Transvaal. At least 19 people were killed on 22 July in Sebokeng township after an Inkatha rally at the local stadium which was attended by about 1,000 people. The police ignored warnings from COSATU of possible violence arising from the rally. Some Inkatha leaders had visited COSATU supporters in their hostel residences, telling them to resign from the union and join Inkatha. On 26 July a group of about 300 armed vigilantes attacked commuters in Soweto as they alighted from trains. Some passengers were forced off moving trains by the same group, resulting in the death of two and injuries to many. Victims held supporters of Inkatha to be responsible for the attacks. On 6 August, 12 people were killed after armed Inkatha supporters raided Kagiso township.
The launch of the 'New Inkatha Party' was generally regarded as part of Buthelezi's attempt to secure a place for himself in negotiations on South Africa's future. Growing ANC support in Natal and nationally, the resignation of Inkatha Secretary-General, Oscar Dhlomo, and waning support from local and international business form the background to this move.
An estimated three million workers stayed away from work on 2 July in response to a call by the ANC, the UDF and COSATU for a week of action in protest against the 'apartheid violence' in Natal. The action was in support of demands for the abolition of the Kwazulu bantustan police, the lifting of the State of Emergency, the arrest and prosecution of Inkatha 'warlords' and freedom of political activity in the region.
Chief Buthelezi alleged that people would be intimidated, despite an undertaking from the organisers of the stayaway that the boycott would be voluntary and peaceful. In the event, police and soldiers patrolled townships and transport routes to 'protect' those who wished to go to work. According to the police reports, however, an estimated 60 per cent of the workforce in Natal heeded the call, with an estimated 90 per cent response in Pietermaritzburg. The Eastern Cape saw 95-100 per cent support while there was 80-90 per cent response in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vaal industrial complex. The international labour movement also supported the actions.
The stayaway was the main element of a month-long campaign to end the Natal violence. It was preceded by rallies across the country mobilising support for a week of action between 2-7 July. Other actions around the country included marches to institutions symbolising apartheid to present petitions containing the above demands. The campaign culminated in a national peace conference on 4 and 5 August.
In response to these pressures business leaders met the Minister of Law and Order to discuss the Natal violence. Although they obtained assurances that the matter was high on the government agenda, his proposed measures, which included a plan to increase the police and troops based there and additional police 'strong points', fell short of or differed from the demands expressed by the community.
Attempts to resume peace talks involving Inkatha, the UDF and COSATU in a Joint Working Party continued to prove difficult. Despite public proclamations of its readiness to talk, Inkatha and its president were seen to be frustrating progress. Although Inkatha lifted a moratorium on peace talks in May, no such discussions have taken place. In July a joint working party meeting organised with the assistance of church groups was cancelled at the insistence of Inkatha which maintained that the political climate was not conducive to such a move.
