Independence Medal (Venda)

Independence Medal
Type	Military commemorative medal
Awarded for	Commemoration of the independence of Venda
Country	Venda
Presented by	the President
Eligibility	All Ranks
Status	Discontinued in 1994
Established	1979
First awarded	1979
Last awarded	1979
Ribbon bar
VDF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear
Next (higher)	VDF precedence: General Service Medal (Venda) SANDF precedence: Independence Medal (Bophuthatswana)
Next (lower)	VDF succession: Long Service Medal, Gold SANDF succession: Independence Medal (Ciskei)

The Independence Medal was instituted by the President of the Republic of Venda in 1979, for award to all ranks in commemoration of the independence of Venda. ^[1]

The Venda Defence Force

The 900 member Venda Defence Force (VDF) was established upon that country's independence on 13 September 1979. The Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Venda Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Institution

The Independence Medal was instituted by the President of Venda in 1979. ^{[1] [5]}

Award criteria

The medal was awarded to all ranks in commemoration of the independence of Venda. ^[1]

Order of wear

Main article: South African military decorations order of wear § Order of wear

Since the Independence Medal was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date. ^[1]

Venda Defence Force until 26 April 1994

• Official VDF order of precedence:
  • Preceded by the General Service Medal.
  • Succeeded by the Long Service Medal, Gold. ^[1]
• Venda official national order of precedence:
  • Preceded by the Police Medal for Combating Terrorism.
  • Succeeded by the Police Establishment Medal. ^[1]

South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994

• Official SANDF order of precedence:
  • Preceded by the Independence Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.
  • Succeeded by the Independence Medal of the Republic of Ciskei. ^[1]
• Official national order of precedence:
  • Preceded by the Independence Police Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.
  • Succeeded by the Police Establishment Medal of the KwaZulu Homeland. ^[1]

The position of the Independence Medal in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1994, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first in April 1996 when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged on both occasions. ^[1]

Description

Obverse

The Independence Medal is a medallion struck in copper, 38 millimetres in diameter, depicting an elephant's head on a shield and inscribed "13 9 1979" above, "INDEPENDENCE" to the left and "DUVHA LA VHUDILANG" to the right of the shield. ^[6]

Reverse

The reverse displays the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Venda.

Ribbon

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 5 millimetres wide brown band, a 2 millimetres wide yellow band, a 5 millimetres wide green band and a 1 millimetre wide yellow band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 6 millimetres wide blue band. ^[6]

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Independence Medal was discontinued when the Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994. ^[4]

References

1. Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, OCLC   72827981
2. South Africa Homeland Militaries, May 1996 (Accessed 1 May 2015)
3. Peled, Alon (1998), A Question of Loyalty: Military Manpower Policy in Multiethnic States , Cornell Studies in Security Affairs, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp.  50f, ISBN   0-8014-3239-1
4. Warrant of the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of the "UNITAS MEDAL-UNITAS-MEDALJE", Gazette no. 16087 dated 25 November 1994.
5. South African Medal Website - Legal aspects - Fount of Honour (Accessed 1 May 2015)
6. "Uniform: SA Army: Former Forces Medals - Venda Defence Force (BDF)". Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2014.