The Sharpeville Six were six South African protesters convicted of the murder of Deputy Mayor of Sharpeville, Kuzwayo Jacob Dlamini, and sentenced to death.
On September 3, 1984, a protest march in Sharpeville turned violent (some of the crowd threw stones at Dlamini's house, he responded by firing a gun and a riot ensued [1] ) and the Deputy Mayor was murdered. Mojalefa Sefatsa, Theresa Ramashamola, Reid Mokoena, Oupa Diniso, Duma Khumalo and Francis Don Mokhesi were arrested in the following months, found guilty of murder under the "Common purpose" doctrine [2] and sentenced to death by hanging on December 12, 1985. [3] Christian Mokubung and Gideon Mokone were also sentenced to eight years in prison. All were represented by lawyer Prakash Diar. [4]
The convictions were widely condemned by the international community as unlawful and racist, particularly in United Nations Security Council Resolution 610 and 615. Two jurists reviewing the case said it was a "crime against humanity". [5] Within the South African legal community opinion was mixed. A poll by The Star of eleven law professors showed that five were supportive of the execution, while six were not – of the six who were not, four raised the prospect of legal reforms and the remaining two remarked the case "smacks of simple vengeance". [6] One professor was dispatched to London to defend the South African government's position on the matter. However, at a press conference, he stated he had not read the trial record but insisted that there had been no miscarriage of justice and "all arguments had been heard". [7]
The following day after Security Council Resolution 610 was adopted, a South African court granted a one-month stay of execution. [3] Of the six, only four appealed and the other two indicated they would rather be executed. [8] The appeal was rejected in June 1988, which the Security Council condemned in Resolution 615; however pressure from abroad finally led to the sentences of all six being commuted to 18–25 years in prison by President Pieter Willem Botha. [9]
With the fall of apartheid, the first members of the Sharpeville Six, Diniso and Khumalo, were released on July 10, 1991, followed by Ramashamola and Mokoena on December 13, 1991, and the final two, Mokhesi and Sefatsa released on September 26, 1992. [10]
The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. Sources disagree as to the behaviour of the crowd: some state that the crowd was peaceful, while others state that the crowd had been hurling stones at the police and that the mood had turned "ugly". The South African Police (SAP) opened fire on the crowd when the crowd started advancing toward the fence around the police station; tear-gas had proved ineffectual. There were 249 victims in total, including 29 children, with 69 people killed and 180 injured. Some were shot in the back as they fled.
Sharpeville is a township situated between two large industrial cities, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, in southern Gauteng, South Africa. Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the Vaal Triangle. It was named after John Lillie Sharpe who came to South Africa from Glasgow, Scotland, as secretary of Stewarts & Lloyds. Sharpe was elected to the Vereeniging City Council in 1932 and held the position of mayor from 1934 to 1937.
Vlakplaas is a farm 20 km west of Pretoria that served as the headquarters of counterinsurgency unit C1 of the Security Branch of the apartheid-era South African Police. Though officially called Section C1, the unit itself also became known as Vlakplaas. Established in 1979, by 1990 it had grown from a small unit of five policemen and about fifteen askaris to a unit of nine squads.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 191, adopted on June 18, 1964, after reiterating its previous requests of the Republic of South Africa and again condemning apartheid, the Council decided to establish a Group of Experts made up of representatives of all the then current members of the Council to study the feasibility and effectiveness of measures which could be taken by the Council under the Charter. The Council also invited the Secretary-General to establish education and training programs for South Africans abroad.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 282, adopted on July 23, 1970, concerned by violations of the arms embargo passed against South Africa in Resolution 191, the Council reiterated its total opposition to the policies of apartheid and reaffirmed its previous resolutions on the topic. The Council called upon states to strengthen the arms embargo by ceasing the provision of military training to members of the South African armed forces and by taking appropriate action to give effective to the resolution's measures.
Internal resistance to apartheid in South Africa originated from several independent sectors of South African society and took forms ranging from social movements and passive resistance to guerrilla warfare. Mass action against the ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with South Africa's growing international isolation and economic sanctions, were instrumental in leading to negotiations to end apartheid, which began formally in 1990 and ended with South Africa's first multiracial elections under a universal franchise in 1994.
Foreign relations of South Africa during apartheid refers to the foreign relations of South Africa between 1948 and the early 1990s. South Africa introduced apartheid in 1948, as a systematic extension of pre-existing racial discrimination laws. Initially the regime implemented an offensive foreign policy trying to consolidate South African hegemony over Southern Africa. These attempts had clearly failed by the late 1970s. As a result of its racism, occupation of Namibia and foreign interventionism in Angola, the country became increasingly isolated internationally.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 392, adopted on June 19, 1976, after the killing of black youths by South African police in Soweto and other areas, the Council strongly condemned the South African government for its measures of repression against the African people. It also expressed its shock after the "callous shooting" of the protesters and sympathy with the victims, who were demonstrating against the policies of the National Party. The resolution also reaffirmed that "the policy of apartheid is a crime against the conscience and dignity of mankind and seriously disturbs international peace and security" which continued in defiance of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 393, adopted on July 30, 1976, after a letter from a representative from Zambia, the Council condemned a recent attack by South Africa in Zambian territory, resulting in the destruction of property and loss of life. The resolution went on to express concern at South Africa's occupation and use of South West Africa as a base for attacking neighbouring African countries, and that the continuation of this would constitute a threat to international peace and security.
In United Nations Security Council Resolution 417, adopted on October 31, 1977, after reaffirming Resolution 392 (1976), the Council condemned the continuing repression against black people and other opponents of apartheid, as well as the South African media and the mounting deaths of detainees. The Council foresaw that the continuation of such activities would lead to serious racial conflict with international repercussions.
United Nations Security Council resolution 503, adopted unanimously on 9 April 1982, after reaffirming Resolution 473 (1980), the Council expressed its concern at the death sentences issued by the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa against Ncimbithi Johnson Lubisi, Petrus Tsepo Mashigo and Naphtali Manana, all of whom were members of the African National Congress.
United Nations Security Council resolution 568, adopted unanimously on 21 June 1985, after hearing representations from Botswana, the Council condemned the Raid on Gaborone by South Africa, expressing its shock and indignation at the loss of life and damage to property and considered the attack as a "gross violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity".
United Nations Security Council resolution 580, adopted unanimously on 30 December 1985, having heard representations from Lesotho and recalling Resolution 527 (1982), the Council condemned the recent attacks on the Kingdom of Lesotho by South Africa, resulting in loss of life and damage to property on 19 December, in which several South African refugees were murdered in Lesotho's capital Maseru by the South African Defence Force.
United Nations Security Council resolution 606 was adopted unanimously on 23 December 1987, after recalling Resolution 602 (1987) and noting the Secretary-General's report authorised by that resolution. The Council condemned South Africa for its continued occupation of southern parts of the People's Republic of Angola and for its delay in withdrawing its forces from the area.
United Nations Security Council resolution 610, adopted unanimously on 16 March 1988, after reaffirming resolutions 503 (1982), 525 (1982), 533 (1983) and 547 (1984) expressing concern at the imposed death sentences of anti-apartheid activists, the Council noted the deteriorating situation in South Africa. Resolution 610 concerned the Sharpeville Six, accused of the murder of the Deputy Mayor of Sharpeville on 12 December 1985.
In United Nations Security Council resolution 615, adopted unanimously on 17 June 1988, after reaffirming resolutions 503 (1982), 525 (1982), 533 (1983), 547 (1984) and 610 (1988) expressing concern at the imposed death sentences of anti-apartheid activists, the Council noted the deteriorating situation in South Africa.
United Nations Security Council resolution 623, adopted on 23 November 1988, the Council noted with grave concern the death sentence imposed upon anti-apartheid activist Paul Tefo Setlaba, on the basis of "common purpose" in South Africa. The resolution at the meeting urgently called by Zambia strongly urged the Government of South Africa to commute Setlaba's sentence and stay his execution in order to further avoid aggravating the situation in South Africa.
United Nations Security Council resolution 626, adopted unanimously on 20 December 1988, after noting an agreement between Angola and Cuba regarding the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and considering a report by the Secretary-General, the Council endorsed the report and established the United Nations Angola Verification Mission I for a period of thirty-one months.
The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) is an anti-apartheid Student Organisation established in 1979 in the wake of the June 16 Soweto Uprisings in 1976 in South Africa.
