Pro-Government Militias
Inkatha aka Inkatha Yenkululeko Yesizwe (South Africa)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 109 |
| Country: | South Africa |
| Date formed: | Jan. 1, 1975 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | day |
| Details of Formation: | Buthelezi, the Chief Minister of the Zulu community, revived the Inkatha as a political party in 1975. Armed operations are reported from 1984 onward. |
| Date dissolved: | April 29, 2004 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | No operations by Inkatha were reported after November 1993. In 1994, the IFP, which was affiliated with the Inkatha PGM, was in a coalition government with its former enemy ANC. There is no information that suggests that this meant the de-facto end of the PGM. In 2004, the IFP quit the government. Hence the Inkatha PGM lost its pro-government status. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no information |
| Former Armed Group? | no information |
| Former Rebel Group? | no information |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no information |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | no information | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister; political party |
| If link to party, name of party: | |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | yes |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; self-maintained |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ethnic; adolescents; party activists |
| Primary Membership: | ethnic |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | KwaZulu |
| Force Strength: | [900000, 1600000] |
| Target(s): | civilians; unarmed political opposition, government critics; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group |
| Purpose(s): | protect national borders and integrity |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | Zulu (South Africa) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | given |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The PGM is also known by its full name Inkatha Yenkululeko Yesizwe (National Cultural Liberation Movement). During the 1980s, it is difficult to distinguish the political from the armed faction of the Inkatha. Members were Zulu South Africans. The main targets of the PGM were anti-apartheid activists, government critics and ANC-supporters. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The main purpose was to suppress government critics, especially ANC supporters and thereby maintain the apartheid regime. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | Inkatha members repeatedly killed ANC supporters, including children. They also destroyed their homes and forced them to flee the violence. Sometimes they acted on their own, sometimes on police orders. The police was bias towards Inkatha members; police passively and actively colluded in Inkatha attacks (Amnesty International). |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | killing |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | yes |
| Reasons for Membership: | A KwaZulu police officer said that he had been instructed at KwaZulu Police College to join Inkatha (Amnesty International). |
| PGM Members Killed? | unclear |
PGM Size
| Size: | In 1985, news sources state a membership between 900,000 and 1,115,094 members. In 1987, another news source says Inkatha had 1.6 million members. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | Police forces provided weapons to Inkatha members. The Directorate of Military Intelligence provided military training, at least from 1986 to 1989. It took place in Caprivi Strip of then South African-occupied Namibia (Amnesty International). Inkatha used a wide range of weapons, including spears, shields, knobkerries, handguns, R1 rifles, shotguns, grenades, incendiary devices, “traditional” weapons, pangas, assegais and sticks (Amnesty International). |
Organisation
| Organisation: | Police forces were biased in favor of Inkatha members. Cabinet Ministers approved security police funding of Inkatha activities, and also the Directorate of Military Intelligence provided funding. The KwaZulu police furthered the interests of Inkatha (Amnesty International). The ANC said in 1991 that there had been up to $ 614,000 in government funding for the Inkatha over the last 6 years. A news source from 1982 mentions a formal alliance between Inkatha and the Labour Party. Inkatha is headed by Gatsha Buthelezi, the Chief Minister of the Zulu, the largest black ethnic group. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.