The Venda Defence Force Medal was instituted by the President of the

Republic of Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...

in 1984, for award to all ranks for service of a high standard.South African Medal Website - Venda Defence Force
(Accessed 30 April 2015)

The Venda Defence Force

The 900 member

Venda Defence Force The Venda Defence Force (VDF) was established in September 1982 from the 112 Battalion of the South African Defence Force and the military branch of the Venda National Force which itself had been formed when the Venda homeland became independent ...

(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).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.

Institution

The Venda Defence Force Medal was instituted by the President of Venda in 1984. It is the junior award of a set of three decorations for merit, along with the Distinguished Service Medal, Gold and the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver. Venda's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these three decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the Southern Cross Decoration and

Pro Merito Decoration The Pro Merito Decoration, post-nominal letters PMD, is a military decoration for merit which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to other ranks of the South African Defence Force for outstanding servi ...

, the

Southern Cross Medal (1975) The Southern Cross Medal of 1975, post-nominal letters SM, is a military decoration which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for exceptionally meritorious ...

and

Pro Merito Medal (1975) The Pro Merito Medal of 1975, post-nominal letters PMM, is a military decoration which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to other ranks of the South African Defence Force for exceptionally meritorious ...

, and the Military Merit Medal.

Award criteria

The medal could be awarded to all ranks for service of a high standard.

Order of wear

Since the Venda Defence Force Medal was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, ;Venda Defence Force until 26 April 1994: *Official VDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver. ** Succeeded by the General Service Medal. *Venda official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Department of Prisons Distinguished Service Medal, Silver (SPM). ** Succeeded by the National Force Medal for Combating Terrorism. ;South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994: Ribbon - Defence Force Commendation Medal

Ribbon - Defence Force Commendation Medal

*Official SANDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Defence Force Commendation Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the Marumo Medal, Class II of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Defence Force Commendation Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the National Intelligence Service Medal for Distinguished Service, Bronze (OOB) of the Republic of South Africa. The position of the Venda Defence Force 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 The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks on ...

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.

Description

;Obverse The Venda Defence Force Medal is a medallion, struck in bronze and 38 millimetres in diameter, with an elephant's head above an open wreath.Uniform: SA Army: Former Forces Medals - Venda Defence Force (BDF)
/ref> ;Reverse The reverse displays the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Venda and, around the perimeter, the words "DEFENCE FORCE MEDAL" at the top and "MENDELE WA MMBI YA VHUPILELI" at the bottom.Venda Defense (sic) Force Medal Full Size Numbered on Rim
/ref> ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 10 millimetres wide red band, a 2 millimetres wide blue band, a 2 millimetres wide green band, a 4 millimetres wide yellow band, a 2 millimetres wide green band, a 2 millimetres wide blue band and a 10 millimetres wide red band.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Venda Defence Force Medal was discontinued when the Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of Venda Awards established in 1984 Awards disestablished in 1994 1984 establishments in Africa 1994 disestablishments in Africa