Cape independence
Cape independence, also known by the portmanteau CapeXit, is a secessionist political movement that seeks the independence of the Western Cape province from South Africa.
Context
Demographic context
Language
The Western Cape province is the most racially diverse province in South Africa, being the single province with no majority racial group. Just under half of Western Cape inhabitants speak Afrikaans as a first language, with sizeable minorities speaking isiXhosa and English as their first languages.Ethnic Groups
A plurality of the Cape's people are 'Cape Coloured', a diverse ethnicity with varying ancestry of indigenous Khoisan, other African, European and Asian people. Historically they have been the majority ethnic group in the Cape.Other notable minority ethnic groups include the Cape Dutch, Anglos and Xhosa people people who are descendants of European and Bantu settlers to Southern Africa respectively.
Polling suggests that Cape Coloureds are the biggest supporters of independence, followed by Cape Dutch and then Anglos. Xhosa people - a demographic that has grown from 19.1% in 1996 to 31.4% by 2022 - tend to be opposed to independence.
Political context
Mainstream political figures including John Steenhuisen, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, have indicated support for devolution proposals that would give the Western Cape more autonomy. Critics of devolution proposals, including African National Congress leaders, argue that they amount to covert support for Cape independence. However, the DA have publicly stated that they do not support outright secession and only greater autonomy via devolution.History
Formation of the Union of South Africa
In the late 19th century there were four colonies and independent states in what is now South Africa – the British Cape Colony, Natal and the two Boer Republics – Orange Free State and South African Republic. There were numerous attempts to unify these separate entities due to fears of external European powers potentially interfering. Numerous proposals were put forward from a highly centralised unitary state to a more loose decentralised federation as proposed by powerful Cape politician Saul Solomon. Ultimately these endeavours failed, and war broke out between the British Empire and the Boer Republics following the discovery of gold in the South African Republic.Following the British victory in the war, the South Africa Act 1909 was passed by the British parliament and the newly conquered republics alongside the Cape Colony and Natal were unified into one centralised, unitary state – the Union of South Africa. This was unlike the formation of Canada and Australia which were created as federations.
Degradation of non-racialism in the Cape
The former Cape Colony was unique in that the franchise to vote was not determined by skin colour, but on residential, economical and educational requirements, in stark contrast to the other states in the region. During the negotiations for the creation of the Union, the Cape's last Prime Minister, John X. Merriman, fought unsuccessfully to have this multi-racial franchise system extended to the rest of South Africa. The attempt failed in the face of opposition from the white governments of the other constituent states, which were determined to entrench white rule.The final version of the South Africa Act permitted the Cape Province to keep a newly restricted version of its traditional franchise, where qualification for suffrage was limited to education and wealth. This led to the Cape being the only province in South Africa where coloureds and black Africans could vote. However, the act also permitted the Parliament of South Africa to prescribe all other voting qualifications and it could override the Cape's franchise with a two-thirds majority.
File:JT Jabavu - A Abdurahman - W Schreiner - W Rubusana and other Cape politicians of anti-South Africa Act delegation.jpg|thumb|right|The multi-racial Cape opposition delegation which lobbied the London Convention on Union for the non-racial franchise. Present are prominent Cape politicians such as Abdurahman, John Tengo Jabavu, Walter Rubusana and William Schreiner.
Initially, the right to this franchise was upheld, but with the substantial support for segregation based policies from the incorporated northern regions, these rights were gradually reduced via acts of parliament. This had a significant effect on the support for more liberal politics, such as the United Party, which drew large support from coloured people in the Cape. As a result, in 1948 the National Party won the national elections while campaigning on the platform of apartheid, being enable to draw on conservative white voters in the more densely populated north.
Apartheid years
In the subsequent apartheid years, the people of the Cape Province continued with their liberal traditions. In 1951, whilst in opposition to the National Party led government's move to finally strike all coloureds off the voters roll, the torch commando led many large scale protests in the Cape against those policies, with torch lit marches in Cape Town that drew up to 75,000 protesters. Within parliament, opposition towards apartheid was led under the leadership of the Progressive Party, where the majority of their support was drawn from the Cape Province.As negotiations to end apartheid began, renewed calls to form a decentralised federal state came from the Democratic Party and the Freedom Front amongst others. In the end via CODESA accords, the National Party and African National Congress agreed upon a partially-devolved unitary state instead.
Post-apartheid
With the fall of Apartheid and the implementation of a new constitution, the Cape Province and other provinces were divided into new provinces: The Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and a portion of the North West. During the 1994 election, the Western Cape was one of the only provinces who didn't vote for the ANC, instead opting to vote for the now reformed and non-racial New National Party. Throughout the following years, the ANC never managed to attain an outright majority in the Western Cape, only forming a provincial government once from 2004 to 2009 during a period of strong economic growth. As economic growth stagnated alongside a rise in political scandals, such as the Arms Deal & HIV denialism, the Western Cape voted for the Democratic Alliance in 2009 who have been in office ever since.Growth
The modern Cape independence movement started in 2007 when the Cape Party was founded off a Facebook group based on the growing disillusionment with the national government's continued use of race-based policies and declining economic growth. The movement gained little traction until the latter half of the 2010s when, after years of persistent government corruption, the inability of the DA to significantly grow outside of the Cape, slowed economic growth, and increasing nationalist rhetoric within and outside of the Cape, other organisations such as CapeXit, Gatvol Capetonian, and the Sovereign State of Good Hope were formed.With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and further disillusionment with the national government failing to reform despite a new leader, the movement began to gain momentum. That same year the Cape Independence Advocacy Group was formed followed by polling on the issue to be conducted. Later that year the Freedom Front Plus came out in support of Cape independence.
With the persistence of the pandemic alongside large scale social unrest, where over 300 people died in the east and the north of the country in 2021, the movement continued to grow on this trajectory.
In 2023 two bills were tabled in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature that sought to give the province more political power. The Western Cape People's Bill, tabled by the FF+, was a bill that aimed to recognise 'Western Capetonians' as a distinct people from the rest of South Africa, while the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill aimed to compel the Western Cape government to investigate and use all legal means to devolve as much power down to the province as possible.
Referendum Ultimatum
In October 2023 the Cape Referendum Alliance, a group of pro-independence organisations sent an ultimatum to Premier Alan Winde for him to call a referendum on independence or for him to ask the President of South Africa to call one. The Premier refused.As a result, the CIAG launched the Referendum Party in response. A single-issue political party that seeks to keep a DA-led Western Cape government but force the issue of a referendum as its coalition condition.
CIAG American advocacy trip
In March 2025, the Referendum Party became embroiled in controversy when the CIAG, led by party head Phil Craig, attempted to gain support from the second Trump administration. The move drew criticism, including from the state president Cyril Ramaphosa. The government also revealed that Mr Craig does not hold South African citizenship, merely permanent residency.Following this, there were calls for his deportation, including from political parties ActionSA, African Transformation Movement and the Economic Freedom Fighters. The minister of Home Affairs responded that Craig could not be deported based on his political stances, and stated that he had not applied of citizenship yet. Mr Craig countered that he has applied for citizenship, having lived in the country for twenty years, and accused the government of being incompetently slow in processing this.