Widespread violence and intimidation in 1996 Kwazulu-Natal

The prevalent violence in kwaZulu-Natal began with widespread interference during the voter registration process preceding the local government elections scheduled for 29 May 1996. Inevitably the elections had to be postponed to the end of June. The announcement was made by former President, Nelson Mandela following a cabinet decision on 6 May 1996. The cabinet was compelled to reschedule the elections after the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) aligned traditional chiefs (amakhosi) had prohibited the African National Congress (ANC) from running campaigns in the rural areas controlled by them. Violence erupted between IFP and ANC members in the province. This was contrary to what the cabinet had envisaged - free and fair elections. The IFP leader, Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, warned that the postponement of the elections would worsen the ongoing violence. In the protracted violence, 1500 people had been killed in the province since the first South African elections in 1994.