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Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in Eastern Cape and 17th largest in the Top 20 largest townships in South Africa.
The name Mdantsane was derived from a stream that ran from the Nahoon River down to the Buffalo River. Some believe the stream was called Dontsane. Soon after the stream was named, a “white farm” which was at the entrance of Mdantsane now was also named after the stream Dontsane or Umdanzani.
The township is part of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The Mdantsane township is the second largest township in the Eastern Cape, by population.
In the same year, the East London municipality received an instruction from the apartheid South African government to submit an application for a new township for its African residents. On February 20, the Minister of the Department of Bantu Administration and Development announced that the entire African population of East London was to be moved to a new site called Mdantsane, which was within the boundaries of the Xhosa native reserve under the administration of the Ciskei Territorial Authority which had been set up in 1961.
The first houses were built in late 1963 with removals planned for 1964. However, removals and resettlement began in 1963. Mdantsane was formally established in 1963 on a farm called “ Umdanzani” and the first 300 residents occupied the new houses. The original inhabitants were people who were forcibly removed from what was known as East Bank in East London.
In 1964, approximately 112 000 people from Duncan Village were forcibly moved to the outskirts of Mdantsane township. Mdantsane was recognised as a homeland town under the bantustan of Ciskei in 1966.
To encourage African residents of Duncan Village and East London to relocate to Mdantsane, the apartheid government adopted a number of strategies. The first was to introduce the Regional Decentralisation Programme (RIDP) in the 1960s which saw the establishment of clothing, food, furniture and building accessory factories on the border of East London, particularly in Wilsonia and at Fort Jackson in Mdantsane. These industries provided employment opportunities to the Mdantsane residents. To keep these industries operational, the government offered generous industrial subsidies and incentives. By the end of the 1980s, about 30,000 and 7,500 jobs respectively were available in Wilsonia and Fort Jackson.
However, low wages, the rise of trade unions and lack of funding in the early 1990s led to the collapse of these factories. To further create the illusion of Mdantsane as an ideal township for Africans, apartheid government then added social services and facilities such as Rubusana Training College, and the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, and subsidised road and rail transport.
The number of police soon increased as reinforcements were brought in, and they became more brutal. To avoid harassment from the police, the commuters began to use the trains. The railway, which formed Ciskei's border with the rest of South Africa, was run by the South African Transport Services and located on the outskirts of Mdantsane. The train fares were marginally lower than the bus fares and provided a space for commuters to discuss issues affecting the community. The train fares increased on 1 August 1983 but the commuters continued to use trains.
Security forces from the Ciskei government set up roadblocks in Mdantsane, and there were reports of commuters being hauled out of taxis and ordered onto buses. On 22 July 1983, five people were shot and wounded by Ciskei security forces at the Fort Jackson railway station. On 30 July, a man was attacked and killed by vigilantes while walking near the Mdantsane stadium. On 3 August, a state of emergency was declared in Mdantsane and a night curfew was imposed. Meetings of more than four people were banned and people were prohibited from walking in groups larger than four.
The Ciskei government police and soldiers formed an armed human blockade at the Fort Jackson, Mount Ruth and Ergeton train stations to prevent commuters from catching the train on 4 August 1983. The commuters moved a few paces forward. The police drew their guns and the people stopped. Without warning the police fired into the crowd. 11 people lost their lives and 36 were injured. The soldiers prevented people from going into the hospital's casualty ward to find the dead. The Ciskei government intensified its security measures, arresting 700 people in a week. By the end of August 1983, over 1000 people were in jail. The incident is known as the Egerton Bus Boycott Massacre. To commemorate the day, former South African deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe unveiled the upgraded Egerton Bus Boycott Massacre Memorial in Site in memory of the victims of the massacre on 24 September 2013.
The events are referred to in the song "Mdantsane - (Mud Coloured Dusty Blood)" on Juluka's sixth album Work For All.
Mdantsane was the home of several figures from the anti-Apartheid struggle, including Monde Mkunqwana who was imprisoned in 1963 for a supposed attempted assassination against Transkei leader Kaiser Matanzima; the lawyer Louis Mtshizana; ANC activist Matta Don Molteno who was banned by the Apartheid government in 1976; and Mzimkulu "Dabana" Gwentshe of the National African Youth Organisation (NAYO) who was imprisoned on Robben Island in 1964. Truth Commission - Special Report on TRC Victims
After a quarrel with his girlfriend, Bulelani Vukwana shot and killed 11 people and injured a further six in a spree killer on February 9, 2002. He later committed suicide.
Cecilia Makiwane Hospital is a 1,724-bed multidisciplinary hospital in Mdantsane. It was named after Cecilia Makiwane, the first black registered nurse in South Africa. Along with Frere Hospital and the East London Mental Health Unit, it forms part of the East London Hospital Complex, which serves a population of almost three million people.
Mdantsane is regarded as the boxing mecca of South Africa having produced many boxers who have not only claimed South African but also international titles. Mdantsane was thrust into the boxing spotlight by Nkosana "Happyboy" Mgxaji when he defeated Durban fighter Moses Mthembu in a non-title fight at Sisa Dukashe Stadium, NU2, Mdantsane on 2 September 1972. Mgxaji went on to win the SA Junior Lightweight title in 1973.
Since then Mdantsane has gone on to produce 50 national and 23 international boxing champions including the former IBF super bantamweight champion Vuyani Bungu, IBF world bantamweight Welcome Ncita, WBO light flyweight champion Masibulele “Hawk” Makepula, former IBF Champion Noni Tenge and Zolani Tete. Mdantsane has not only produced excellent boxers but also award-winning mentors like Balekile Sam and Mzimasi Mnguni.
Professor Njabulo Ndebele in his book 'Behind sweaty windows’ describes boxing as a core element in the township's culture. "Boxing is a street sport in Mdantsane..All the world champions started boxing from the streets, in the classrooms of Mdantsane’s school...For the young men boxing is “a field we ploughed with no skills and resources...It’s part of the community culture, and entertainment. It has also given the community of Mdantsane a sense of communal identity.” In April 2016, South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe donated R1 million worth of gym equipment is to be distributed to 57 clubs in Mdantsane.
The R102 regional route which was the historic main road between Qonce and East London prior to the construction of the N2 leads eastwards to East London and westwards to Ntabozuko (Berlin) and Qonce.
Mdantsane Access Road also serves as a linkage between Mdantsane and East London, running parallel to the R102. Unlike the N2 and R102, this route runs towards the city centre of East London rather than the northern suburbs.
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