A Lion Amongst the Cattle: Reconstruction and Resistance in the Northern Transvaal

The author draws on interviews to tell the story of the bitter and protracted struggles sparked off in the formidable Pedi Kingdom by the shifting policies and practices of conservation, segregation and apartheid. At the heart of the book are the two revolts of 1958 and 1986. Also charted is the changing relationship of the Communist Party and the ANC to the countryside, and the importance of migrant workers in the political cross-fertilization which contributed both to the revolt in 1958 and the formation of the Umkhonto We Sizwe in 1961. There is also an analysis of the run-up to the 1994 election in the Northern Transvaal, in which the ANC achieved its most decisive regional victory.