In 1984, the popular challenge to the apartheid state reached new intensity. By late 1982, black community struggles for better education and basic township services had moved to the Transvaal. The UDF began a campaign against Nationalist reforms which seriously undermined the government's political programme and positioned the UDF as the dominant internal opponent to apartheid. Embracing the ANC's call to make townships ‘ungovernable’, it urged the building of ‘organs of people's power’ through street committees and ‘people's courts’.At the same time, thousands of black pupils boycotted schools in protest against ‘gutter education’ demanding ‘people's education for people's power’. By August 1984, many schools were permanently on boycott, and students fought running battles with police who responded using teargas, birdshot, rubber bullets and live munition.

In 1983 Cosas (Congress of South African Students) had established a presence in Katlehong. It was launched in 1979 to represent black school students nationally, and was affiliated to the UDF. By 1984 it was the largest youth organisation on the East Rand and 556 of its activists had been detained. Cosas brought the struggle for decent education into workers’ homes and parents began to support their children's struggles and to enter community organisations. In addition, by 1983 South Africa was in recession. Unemployment, rising prices, low wages, squatter removals and rising rents were issues workers now confronted.

Battles on the education front ignited other townships. When local authorities raised rents to finance township infrastructure, communities rose to challenge the entire system of local government. Struggles against councils became progressively more violent as community and youth organisations clashed with the police, and later the armed forces. Councillors fled townships and the black local government system collapsed.