Mangope calls out troops as unrest flares in Bophuthatswana

In 1994, the persistant tensions in Bophuthatswana homeland came to a head after the homeland's government decided against registering for the election and the African National Congress (ANC) called for a blockade of the territory. The President, Lucas Mangope, wished for Bophuthatswana to remain an independent state and therefore resisted efforts to integrate into the new South Africa. His attempt to prolong the sham authority of the homeland was met with massive civic resistance, including a civil service strike and and mutiny in the local armed forces. On the other side of the divide, members of the rightwing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) arrived to support the local government. During the protests on March 8, police vehicles were set alight; ANC offices were petrol-bombed and police teargassed striking public servants and the offices of Lawyers for Human Rights.