The 1987 Transkei coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Transkei, an unrecognised state and a nominally independent South African homeland for the Xhosa people, which took place on 30 December 1987. The coup was led by the then 32-year-old Major General Bantu Holomisa, the Chief of the Transkei Defence Force, against the government of Prime Minister Stella Sigcau (TNIP). Holomisa suspended the civilian constitution and refused South Africa's repeated demands for a return to civilian rule on the grounds that a civilian government would be a puppet controlled by Pretoria. (Accessed 1 May 2015)
A counter-coup staged in 1990 failed, and Holomisa's military government stayed in power until the reunification of Transkei with South Africa in 1994, after the first post-apartheid general election.All Bantustans (both nominally independent and self-governing) were dismantled and their territories reincorporated into South Africa with effect from 27 April 1994, in terms of section 1(2) and Schedule 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993, the so-called "Interim Constitution" which abolished apartheid in South Africa. The text of this Interim Constitution, which came into force on 27 April 1994, coinciding with the beginning of the first democratic elections, is available online at Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 as of 27 April 1994.
The Military Rule Medal was instituted to commemorate the 1987 coup d'état. While the medal is known to have been instituted and awarded, no warrant has yet been traced.South African Medal Website - Transkei Defence Force (Accessed 30 April 2015)Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005,
See also 1990 Ciskei coup d'état 1990 Venda coup d'état 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis
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