Policing the Witwatersrand: a History of the South African Republic Police
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Policing the Witwatersrand: A history of the South African Republic Police, 1886-1899 Cornelis Hermanus Muller This thesis has been submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the faculty of the Humanities, for the Centre of Africa Studies at the University of the Free State Bloemfontein Supervisor: Prof Ian Phimister Co-supervisor: Dr Lindie Koorts February 2016 i Declaration i. I, Cornelis Hermanus Muller, declare that the Doctoral Degree research thesis that I herewith submit for the Doctoral Degree qualification Doctor of Philosophy in the faculty of the Humanities, for the Centre of Africa Studies at the University of the Free State is my independent work, and that I have not previously submitted it for a qualification at another institution of higher education. ii. I, Cornelis Hermanus Muller, hereby declare that I am aware that the copyright is vested in the University of the Free State. iii. I, Cornelis Hermanus Muller, hereby declare that all royalties as regards intellectual property that was developed during the course of and/or in connection with the study at the University of the Free State, will accrue to the University. In the event of a written agreement between the University and the student, the written agreement must be submitted in lieu of the declaration by the student. Signature: ____________________ Date: 22 February 2016 Cornelis Hermanus Muller Bloemfontein. ii Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................ i Opsomming.......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................. v List of Abbreviations........................................................................................................... vii Table of Figures................................................................................................................... viii Dedication............................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER ONE.................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction: Policing histories, methodology and structure CHAPTER TWO................................................................................................................. 46 ‘Near the Church, and far from God’: Gold, crime and punishment – policing the Witwatersrand, 1886-1890 CHAPTER THREE............................................................................................................. 100 ‘The Greatest Scandal’: The battle for control and power in the South African Republic Police Force, 1891-1895 CHAPTER FOUR............................................................................................................... 180 Crisis and reorganisation: The Jameson Raid and police reform on the Witwatersrand 1895-1897 CHAPTER FIVE................................................................................................................ 245 ‘Let justice be done though the heavens fall’: Conspiracy, intrigue and attempts at police reform, 1897-1899 CHAPTER SIX.................................................................................................................. 303 Republicanism versus Imperialism: The role of the police in the outbreak of the South African War, 1897-1899 CHAPTER SEVEN............................................................................................................ 379 Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................... 398 iii Abstract This thesis fills a lacuna in the historiography of the institutional dimensions of colonial policing in southern Africa. The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 led to the rapid industrialisation of the South African Republic’s agrarian based economy. The mines and resultant industries attracted a diverse group of people from across southern Africa and beyond to the newly established town of Johannesburg. The government, however, struggled to accommodate the needs of this society and was intermittently branded as an impediment to development and progress. Located within the broader framework of colonial history, the establishment and development of a police force offers a particular lens through which to examine the political, social and economic forces that characterised this period. This thesis aims to account for the institutional development of the South African Republic Police. Concomitantly, it places these developments within the context of late nineteenth-century state formation in colonial southern Africa. Based on a close inspection of archival sources, the thesis follows a largely chronological narrative, in which particular themes accounting for the development of the police are highlighted. It gives a detailed analysis of the bureaucratic and administrative strife between the officials tasked with law enforcement and colonial administration. The thesis argues that the alleged inefficiency of the police was directly linked to the battle for command and control of the force. By examining aspects of recruitment, reorganisation and reform, the thesis also addresses conceptions of colonial identity and politics. Race, class and ethnicity influenced interaction within the police force, but also had important consequences for the relationship between the police and the wider society. The evolution of the police is therefore investigated by accounting for aspects relating to crime and crisis; the view of the police held by the policed; the interaction between the police and the mining industry, and the role the police played in heightening the tension between Pretoria and London in the run-up to the South African War. By accounting for the institutional development of the police, more insight is gained into the role of the i police in colonial society. The latter also casts more light on our understanding of the South African Republic’s administrative functioning and its internal politics. Key words: Police; Policing; bureaucracy; maladministration; reform; corruption; crime; South African Republic; nineteenth-century; colonialism ii Opsomming Hierdie studie vul 'n leemte in die historiografie van die institusionele dimensies van koloniale polisiëring in Suider-Afrika. Die ontdekking van goud aan die Witwatersrand in 1886 het gelei tot die snelle industrialisasie van die Zuid- Afrikaansche Republiek se landbou-georiënteerde ekonomie. Die myne en die voortspruitende nywerhede het 'n diverse groep mense van regoor Suider-Afrika en die buiteland na die nuutgestigte dorp, Johannesburg, gelok. Die regering het met tye gesukkel om aan die gemeenskap se behoeftes te voldoen en is gevolglik gebrandmerk as wisselvallig en beskou as 'n hindernis tot ontwikkeling en vooruitgang. Gegewe die raamwerk van koloniale geskiedenis, bied die vestiging en ontwikkeling van 'n polisiemag in hierdie tyd 'n bepaalde lens waardeur die politieke, maatskaplike en ekonomiese kwessies wat hierdie tydperk gekenmerk het, ondersoek kan word. Die doel van hierdie tesis is om die institusionele ontwikkeling van die Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek Polisie te ondersoek. Terselfdertyd plaas dit hierdie ontwikkeling binne die konteks van negentiende-eeuse staatsontwikkeling in koloniale Suider-Afrika. Op grond van ’n noukerige ontleding van 'n verskeidenheid argivale bronne, volg die tesis 'n grootliks kronologiese narratief waarin bepaalde temas aangaande die ontwikkeling van die polisie uitgelig word. Dit gee 'n gedetailleerde analise van die burokratiese en administratiewe twis tussen die amptenare wat verantwoordelik was vir wetstoepassing en koloniale administrasie. Die tesis voer aan dat die beweerde ondoeltreffendheid van die polisie direk gekoppel moet word aan die stryd om bevel en beheer oor die mag te bewerkstellig. Deur aspekte rakende werwing, herorganisasie en hervorming te ondersoek, spreek die tesis ook tot begrippe oor koloniale identiteit en politiek. Ras, klas en etnisiteit beïnvloed interaksie binne die polisiemag, maar het ook belangrike gevolge vir die verhouding tussen die polisie en die breër gemeenskap. Die evolusie van die polisiediens word dus ook ondersoek deur verantwoording te doen oor aspekte wat verband hou met misdaad en krisis; die beeld iii van die polisie by die samelewing; die interaksie tussen die polisie en die mynbedryf en die rol wat die polisie gespeel het tydens die toenemende spanning tussen Pretoria en Londen in die aanloop tot die Anglo-Boereoorlog. Deur die institusionele ontwikkeling van die polisie te bestudeer, word meer insig verkry in die rol wat die polisie gespeel het in die vorming van die koloniale samelewing. Laasgenoemde werp ook meer lig op ons begrip van die administratiewe funksionering en interne politiek van die Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. Sleutelwoorde: polisie; polisiëring; burokrasie; wanadministrasie; hervorming; korrupsie; misdaad; Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, negentiende-eeu; kolonialisme iv Acknowledgements This thesis was made possible by a scholarship provided by the University of the Free State. I am grateful to this institution for the opportunity and support it provided me in pursuing this study. I owe a huge debt of gratitude