History
It was declared self-governing on 1 February 1973, with elections held later in the year. Further elections were held in July 1978. The territory was declared independent by the South African government on 13 September 1979 and its residents lost their South African citizenship. In common with other bantustans, its independence was not recognized by the international community. Being nominally independent it was possible to set up a casino which was done in the early 1980s, staffed in the main by British workers. The sovereign nation of Venda didn't practice apartheid, leading to relationships across the racial divide. It was initially a series of non-contiguous territories in the Transvaal, with one main part and one main exclave. Its capital, formerly at Sibasa, was moved to Thohoyandou (which included the old Sibasa administrative district) when Venda was declared independent in 1979. Prior to independence it was expanded to form one contiguous territory, with a total land area of 6,807 km². In the 1984 elections the ruling Venda Independence People's Party lost to the Venda National Party.
At independence in 1973, the population of Venda stood at 200 000 people. In 1996 the figure moved to 600 000, the 2001 statistics put Venda speakers at 800 000. The 2011 Statistics revealed that the Venda speakers have jumped to 1.2 million people. The state was cut off from neighboring Zimbabwe by the Madimbo corridor, patrolled by South African troops, to the north, and from nearby Mozambique by the Kruger National Park.
The first President of Venda, Patrick Mphephu, was also a chief of the Venda people; he was born and lived in Dzanani. His successor, Frank Ravele, was overthrown in a military coup in 1990, after which the territory was ruled by the Council of National Unity. Venda was re-absorbed into South Africa on 27 April 1994.
In 1982, the University of Venda was established as an institution for higher learning for vha-Venda people.
Read more about this topic: Venda
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