Botha Sigcau

Paramount Chief Botha Sigcau (died 1 December 1978) was a chief in Eastern Pondoland, Transkei, South Africa (1939–1976) and later Prime Minister of Transkei from 1976 to 1978. A graduate of University of Fort Hare, Sigcau was an early supporter of the Bantu Authorities in Transkei and was rewarded by the South African government when he was appointed chairman of the Transkei Territorial Authority, the parliament before independence.

Political career

Botha Sigcau was a graduate of University of Fort Hare. In 1939, the government gave Botha Sigcau the chieftaincy over his half-brother, Nelson Sigcau, who the Mpondo felt was their rightful heir.[1] Botha Sigcau was favoured by the apartheid government because they could pay him a large salary in exchange for control of the Transkei. When the Transkei was formed in 1976, Botha Sigcau was appointed the first President of Transkei in Eastern Pondoland, South Africa. Kaiser Matanzima was his elected deputy. The area was granted self-governance under the apartheid regime. The area was known as the Republic of Transkei and it was a Bantustan, an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity. Botha Sigcau was instrumental in writing the constitution of the Transkei.

There was popular opposition to Botha Sigcau's chieftaincy because he lacked legitimacy according to Pondo custom.[2] Opposition also arose because Sigcau openly supported the Bantu Authorities and the National Party. There was also widespread corruption in the government appointed tribal courts of Eastern Pondoland, which Botha Sigcau ruled over. In 1958, all the Pondoland districts were invited to send representatives to a large gathering called by the Minister of Bantu Administration and Development Michel Daniel Christiaan de Wet Nel, and Botha Sigcau.[3] In this meeting, both Nel and Sigcau promised to grant Pondo chiefs seats in local government as councillors but, in practice, Sigcau selected councillors from his own friends and supporters.

Dissent over Botha Sigcau’s leadership as president and chief came to its height during the 1960s Mpondo Revolt.[1] A popular movement of resistance arose among the people, and although meetings were illegal, they were held just the same and attended by thousands of people, who came on foot and on horseback to chosen spots on the mountains and ridges.[4] The demands of the people were: the withdrawal of the Bantu Authorities and Bantu Education Acts; representation in the Republic’s parliament; relief from the increased taxes and passes which hampered free movement; and the removal of Paramount Chief Botha Sigcau. The Pondos discovered that news of their meetings was reaching the magistrate. Drastic action was taken against these informers; huts were burnt down, and many of them were forced to flee from the area.[3]

On June 6, a massacre occurred when people met to discuss their complaints. Two aircraft and a helicopter dropped tear-gas and smoke bombs on the crowd, and police vehicles approached from two directions. Although it was a peaceful gathering, 11 people died and 23 were arrested after the meeting on a charge of ‘fighting’, and of these 19 were convicted and sentenced.[1] It is reported that Sigcau fired the first shot from the helicopter [5]

On 1 December 1978, Botha Sigcau died of a heart attack in Umtata.

Family

Sigcau's daughter, Stella Sigcau, was the leader of the Transkei National Independence Party and the first female Prime Minister of Transkei in 1987, Sigcau's son, Nkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau, was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and Mpondombinini Thandizulu Sigcau kaBotha Manzolwandle Jongilizwe Sigcau his other son successed him to the throne of Paramount chief.

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References
  1. Mbeki, G. “The Peasants Revolt” Online. Accessed 12 November.
  2. Badat, Saleem (2013-01-30). The Forgotten People: Political Banishment under Apartheid. BRILL. ISBN 9789004247710.
  3. Rashid (2014-11-12). "Document 68 - Ben Turok, The Pondo Revolt [c. 1960]". South African History Online. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  4. Gibbs, Timothy (2014). Mandela's Kinsmen: Nationalist Elites & Apartheid's First Bantustan. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. ISBN 9781847010896.
  5. Kepe, Thembela; Ntsebeza, Lungisile (2011-10-14). Rural Resistance in South Africa: The Mpondo Revolts After Fifty Years. BRILL. ISBN 9004214461.
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