Sharpeville Six

MS MAYA: Thank you Mr Chairperson. Sthembiso you are going to talk about what happened to you in March 1990 when you were on your back to the Sharpeville Day rally. Please tell us what happened.

CHAIRPERSON: I don't know, I can't - the Sharpeville Six case, what was the name of that case?

Tragically, Sharpeville and the Poqo uprising, amongst others, signalled a frightening trend and development. On the other hand Herren Volkanism gained the upper hand and brought even more racial intolerance and polarisation.

... and sometimes chastisement and sometimes direction from our parents. I remember very, very vaguely at the time of the 1960's when, you know, the Sharpeville Massacre happened. There were books in the house that for instance my mother would warn, especially Ben, who seemed to have quite a ...

MR VAN RENSBURG: Yes, I think in the whole country, the 21st of March was Sharpeville Day if I remember correctly.

6. The Sharpeville incident reverberated throughout South Africa and around the world. Riots and protest erupted in black townships. On 30 Mar 60 the RSA government declared a state of emergency and enacted the Unlawful Organisations Act , Act No 34 of 1960 which on 8 Apr 60 formalised the ...

MR BERGER: You were born in Sharpeville in 1951, is that correct?

On the other week when we are in Sharpeville - sorry, in Sebokeng, the ex-councillors like you, came out as a body. They were saying what are you doing with us who are rejected by the community and we are rejected even by the present Government.

home I was made to sit down. The next day the police arrived, they picked me. They took us to Sharpeville. They were asking us questions. Five times they came to fetch us. They picked us up on the Tuesday, they came again and again and again. And the last time and we were just telling them ...

MR MAHARAJ: Because the history of apartheid goes back to a consistent pattern of killing civilians deliberately. Sharpeville was one such incident where practically all the people killed had bullet wounds where the bullet entered the back of the body and none of those people were military ...

... disclosure of all relevant facts and accordingly amnesty is GRANTED to the applicant in respect of all offences related to the attack on the Sharpeville Police Station on 1 October ...

... the, that for us was an encouragement, but I must say, coming from a situation where one had read a bit of history and one knew about events like Sharpeville at that time and it is something that weighed very heavily on my mind, especially the possibility that that could happen. I had a very ...

I would like to have your comment on that and also your comment on the relationship that ANGLO had with you after Sharpeville, 1960?

MR DAVID RAMOHOASE: He was a superior policeman in Sharpeville. He was well known. But they used to call him Comde (?). That is Mr Ben Pitsi. I know him personally. I don't know whether is he alive or not. Because he came from Lesotho. Maybe he went back to Lesotho or he is still working ...

... it was not widely reported in the newspapers around the country. But it was clear that the residents of Worcester were really angry about the Sharpeville and Langa events and they were very active in the events that were organised following the Sharpeville massacre and the burning of passes ...

... the Coloured Labour Preference policy was rigidly enforced. The African National Congress and the Pan African Congress were both banned after the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960, events which significantly altered the scale of public opposition to state controls. Eight women, ten children ...

... get the thing into perspective for my understanding, you are saying that all perpetrators should go the same route of being taken to court be they Sharpeville where people were just massacred without having guns, be they June the sixteenth. Shall we raise those names and say the amnesty process ...

... of the people who actually appeared at other hearings, Mrs Bangeni from Soweto, the mother of Bheki Bangeni, and Duma from Sharpeville, one of the Sharpeville six people from the eighties, welcome to you two as ...

MR BERGER: Would you agree with the evidence from one of your co-applicants, that the real problems were in townships such as Sharpeville and Sebokeng and that Boipatong was chosen as a target for the attack because it was closer, in fact very close to Kwamadala hostel, in stead of Sharpeville or ...

M OLIPHANT: It was in 1990 on the 11th of May. The students were gathered together with their leaders and the aim of that gathering was to march to the court. We wanted to complain against the youth who was caught on the 21st of March when we were celebrating the Sharpeville Day.