<P> Venda was initially a series of non-contiguous territories in the Transvaal, with one main part and one main exclave . Its capital, formerly at Sibasa, was moved to Thohoyandou (which included the old Sibasa administrative district) when Venda was declared independent in 1979 . Prior to independence it was expanded to form one contiguous territory, with a total land area of 6,807 km2 . In the 1984 elections the ruling Venda Independence People's Party (VIPP) lost to the Venda National Party (VNP). </P> <P> At independence in 1979, the population of Vhavenda stood at about 200,000 people . The state was cut off from neighboring Zimbabwe by the Madimbo corridor, patrolled by South African troops, to the North, and from nearby Mozambique by the Kruger National Park . </P> <P> The first President of Venda, Patrick Mphephu, was also a Paramount Chief of the Vhavenda people; he was born and lived in Dzanani in Limpopo . His successor, Orifuna Ndou, was overthrown in a military coup by the Venda Defence Force in 1990, after which the territory was ruled by the Council of National Unity . Venda was re-absorbed into South Africa on 27 April 1994 . </P> <P> In 1982, the University of Venda known as Univen was established as an institution of higher learning for the Vhavenda people . Being nominally independent it was able to set up a casino in the early 1980s, staffed mainly by British workers . This would not have been legally possible in South Africa proper . </P>

When did venda become part of south africa