The 1994 Bophuthatswana conflict was a popular uprising against, and subsequent removal of, Lucas Mangope's regime in Bophuthatswana, a South African bantustan created during apartheid. The conflict - which was formally suppressed by the South African Defence Force on March 12 - resulted from wildcat strikes, a wave of support for the African National Congress then sweeping the territory, mutiny in the armed services, and Mangope's refusal to participate in general elections. It has been remembered largely for the public shooting of three right-wing Afrikaner extremists by a black officer of the Bophuthatswana Police. This proved to be a public relations disaster for the far right and demoralised Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging militants hoping to preserve white minority rule.