Southern African History

A Dictionary of World History A Dictionary of Contemporary World History Further reading

Inkatha Freedom Party

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | Copyright

Inkatha Freedom Party A South African Zulu political organization under the leadership of Chief Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI. The party was founded as the Inkatha movement by Buthelezi in 1975 to counter the Xhosa-dominated AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC). Unlike the ANC, which sought to overthrow the apartheid system through armed struggle, Inkatha was pledged to represent Zulu interests by working within the BANTU HOMELAND system established by the White regime. From the early 1980s onwards, increasingly violent clashes took place between supporters of the two groups, resulting in an estimated death toll of over 5000 people. The Inkatha movement became a political party in 1990 and changed its name to the Inkatha Freedom Party. In South Africa's first multiracial elections in 1994, Inkatha initially boycotted the poll but eventually participated. It won 43 seats in the new national assembly and Buthelezi was appointed home affairs minister. Inkatha's standing was damaged in the 1990s by revelations that it had been covertly funded and armed by the security forces in the 1980s, in an attempt to increase ethnic tension and destabilize the ANC.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Inkatha Freedom Party." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Inkatha Freedom Party." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-InkathaFreedomParty.html

"Inkatha Freedom Party." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-InkathaFreedomParty.html

Learn more about citation styles