The 1987 Transkei coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Transkei, an unrecognised state and a nominally independent South African homeland for the Xhosa people, which took place on 30 December 1987.

The coup was led by the then 32-year-old Major General Bantu Holomisa, the Chief of the Transkei Defence Force, against the government of Prime Minister Stella Sigcau (TNIP).

[5] A counter-coup staged in 1990 failed,[6] and Holomisa's military government stayed in power until the reunification of Transkei with South Africa in 1994, after the first post-apartheid general election.

[7] The Military Rule Medal was instituted to commemorate the 1987 coup d'état.

While the medal is known to have been instituted and awarded, no warrant has yet been traced.