OPINION | Biko’s Quest for a more humane nation remains unfulfilled

October 21, 2024 88 1

If history teaches us anything, it is that those who forget are doomed to repeat it. Repetition occurs because oppressors cannot imagine living in a society where there is no one to oppress, dehumanise, or treat as inferior. The dreams of the oppressed (to be free) are a nightmare for the oppressors. Every liberation effort is met with brute force, resulting in massacres.

The Sharpeville Massacre of March 21, 1960, is a prime example. The police responded with excessive force, firing on an unarmed crowd. The oppressors could not envision a society without oppression. The toll was as follows:

69 fatalities:
- 57 people were shot in the back
- 12 others were shot in the head
- 2 others died from other injuries
180 injuries:
- Many suffered severe gunshot wounds
- Some were left permanently disabled

The Sharpeville Massacre marked a pivotal moment in the national liberation struggle, sparking widespread international condemnation and leading to increased resistance within the country.

Protest was organised by the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)
Demonstrators demanded an end to pass laws, which controlled the movement of black people
The event galvanised the international community, lending support to South Africa’s international isolation
The ANC and PAC were banned

The eight-year period of black political inaction in the country gave the regime the impression that their repressive measures had achieved the desired effect. However, in 1968, the people reawakened, led by the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), with the establishment of the South African Students Organisation (SASO). The Black People’s Convention (BPC) followed in 1972. To honour the memory of the martyrs, SASO and BPC declared March 21 as Heroes’ Day.

On the eve of being elected BPC National Organiser, playwright and University of Zululand SRC President, Mthuli ka Shezi, died in December 1972 after being pushed under the tracks of an oncoming train at Germiston Station. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) ended Portuguese colonial rule in 1974. Frelimo’s victory inspired SASO and BPC to organise the “Viva Frelimo” rallies.

“If Portuguese colonialism could be defeated in Mozambique, so could settler-colonialism in South Africa,” BC leaders surmised.

The face and voice leading this bold movement and calling to celebrate Frelimo’s victory was SASO President, Muntu Myeza. The rallies put SASO and BPC into direct confrontation with the South African government.

Then Justice Minister, Jimmy Kruger, banned the Viva Frelimo rally planned for September 25, 1974. Nevertheless, Myeza declared the rallies would proceed.

People turned up in large numbers in Durban and Turfloop. Police arrests followed, and many BCM/BPC/SASO leaders were detained in October 1974.

Those arrested included Myeza, Zithulele Cindi, Saths Cooper, Mosiuoa Lekota, Nchaupe Mokoape, Strini Moodley, Nkwenkwe Nkomo, and Kaborane Sedibe. The nine were charged under the Terrorism Act and put on trial in what became the SASO/BPC Treason Trial.

The trial commenced in 1975.

Soweto exploded on June 16, 1976, igniting a nationwide revolt.

“Forward Ever, Backward Never” became the slogan chanted by students in 1976. Steve Biko became a defence witness at the SASO/BPC treason trial, transforming it into an international platform for articulating the Black Consciousness philosophy.

The leaders of the June 16 student uprising were charged with sedition in what became known as the “Soweto 11” trial. The government could no longer govern as it had before.

The more desperate the regime became, the more criminal its actions became. Assassinations, kidnappings, and burials in unmarked graves increasingly became the modus operandi of the National Party government. Bans, arrests (including those of journalists), and deaths in police custody became the order of the day.

On August 18, 1977, Steve Biko was arrested at a roadblock along with Peter Jones in Grahamstown. This was the last time Biko would leave prison alive.

Jones, who was the last person to see Biko, was kept in solitary confinement. He only learned of Biko’s death when arrested mourners from Biko’s funeral were brought into the Port Elizabeth prison (now renamed Gqeberha) where Jones was being held.

Biko became the 46th prisoner to die in detention. Within a month of his burial on September 25, 1977, the state’s high-handedness descended upon Biko’s movement.

The apartheid regime, trusting only in its laws, crushed dissent with tyranny, killing, maiming, and oppressing. As a last resort, the government banned 18 Black Consciousness organisations, muzzled two newspapers, The World and Weekend World, and shut down the religious publication, Pro Veritate, on October 19, 1977.

By Government Gazette No. 2551, the South African apartheid regime banned the following 18 Black Consciousness organisations:

Association for the Educational and Cultural Advancement of the African People of South Africa (ASECA)
Black Parents Association (BPA)
Black People’s Convention (BPC)
Black Community Programmes (BCP)
Black Women’s Federation (BWF)
Border Youth Organisation (BYO)
Eastern Province Youth Organisation
Medupe Writers Association
Natal Youth Organisation (NYO)
National Youth Organisation (NAYO)
South African Students Movement (SASM)
South African Students Organisation (SASO)
Soweto Students Representative Council (SSRC)
The Christian Institute (CI)
Transvaal Youth Organisation (TYO)
Union of Black Journalists (UBJ)
Western Cape Youth Organisation (WCYO)
Zimele Trust
Two newspapers: The World and Weekend World
Over 200 people were detained, including Steve Biko (who died in detention on September 12, 1977)
17 banning orders were issued under the Suppression of Communism Act and the Terrorism Act. Restrictions included:

Prohibition of gatherings and meetings
Banning of publications and literature
Restriction of movement and association
Seizure of assets of banned organisations by the state

There is a world, history, and a liberated imagination that repressive regimes strive to obliterate, taking away the humanity of those they oppress. The South African apartheid regime was a prime example of this.

Steve Biko looked beyond all the obstacles that dehumanisation had placed on the path to liberation and courageously declared: “We have set out on a quest for true humanity, and somewhere on the distant horizon we can see a glittering prize. Let us march forth, drawing strength from our common plight. In time, we shall be in a position to bestow upon South Africa the greatest gift possible – a human face.”

This much-awaited prize, which Biko had envisioned, remains unfulfilled. He was not only murdered for his vision, but the apartheid regime also sought to deliver a fatal blow to the movement he led by banning the 18 Black Consciousness organisations he helped found on October 19, 1977, along with the newspapers The World and Weekend World.

As we marked the 47th anniversary of this event this past Saturday, the mission that Biko stood for still awaits fulfillment. Written by Corporate Strategist, Freelance Writer and Journalist, Oupa Ngwenya

#SteveBiko:
“We see a completely non-racial society. We don’t believe…in guarantees for minority rights, because guaranteeing minority rights implies recognition of the community on a race basis. In our country…there shall just be people”#Biko43Years #WeAreBiko #September1st pic.twitter.com/iDruEvz8ik

— SteveBikoFoundation (@BikoFoundation) September 1, 2020