Bisho massacre

Last updated

Bisho massacre
Part of the Internal resistance to apartheid
Bisho Massacre Memorial Site.jpg
South Africa Eastern Cape location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bisho massacre (Eastern Cape)
Location Bisho
Coordinates 32°51′35″S27°25′30″E / 32.85972°S 27.42500°E / -32.85972; 27.42500 Coordinates: 32°51′35″S27°25′30″E / 32.85972°S 27.42500°E / -32.85972; 27.42500
Date7 September 1992 (30 years ago)

The Bisho massacre occurred on 7 September 1992 in Bisho, in the then nominally independent homeland of Ciskei which is now part of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. Twenty-eight African National Congress supporters and one soldier were shot dead by the Ciskei Defence Force during a protest march when they attempted to enter Bisho (now renamed to Bhisho) to demand the reincorporation of Ciskei into South Africa during the final years of apartheid.

Contents

Background

Bhisho (previously spelled Bisho) was the capital of the Ciskei, a nominally independent homeland (bantustan) for the Xhosa people in South Africa. The government of Ciskei was formed in 1961 under the Bantu Authorities Act, 1951 after the South African government declared it a separate administrative territory. In 1972, the status was elevated to self-governing territory. This coincided with stronger efforts to forcibly remove Xhosa-speakers to Ciskei. On 4 December 1982, Ciskei became an independent republic, recognised only by the South African government and other 'independent' homeland states in South Africa. [1] The system of racially segregated homelands had been a core of apartheid, but between 1990 and 1994, negotiations were taking place between the government of South Africa and the African National Congress (ANC) to end the apartheid system.

With multi-racial democratic elections as the likely outcome of the negotiations, the ANC wished to organise and mobilise its supporters in the Ciskei, particularly as it lay in the Eastern Cape area, a traditional stronghold for ANC supporters. However, its military leader Brigadier Oupa Gqozo resisted this and prevented the ANC from organising. In 1991, Gqozo formed the African Democratic Movement to counter the ANC in Ciskei. In December of the same year, he was part of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) negotiations. Codesa was a forum made up of government (National Party) and non-government interest groups to negotiate a new constitution and the transition to democracy in South Africa. In March 1992, Gqozo accused the ANC of planning to overthrow him and in August he stopped ANC marchers from entering Ciskei from King William's Town, a town in South Africa, although close enough to Ciskei. [2]

Protest march and massacre

On 3 September, the ANC sent a memorandum to President F. W. de Klerk demanding that he replace Gqozo with an interim administration which would permit free democratic activity in Ciskei, but De Klerk refused, on the grounds that the Ciskei did not fall under South Africa's jurisdiction. [3] At the time, negotiations had broken down, with the ANC withdrawing following the Boipatong massacre and accusing De Klerk's government of fomenting the violence.

As a result, the ANC began a campaign of "mass action", organising a protest march to occupy Bisho and force Gqozo's resignation. Gqozo sought a court interdict to prevent the march, and the magistrate ruled that it could take place at the homeland's independence stadium, outside Bisho, but could not enter the capital. The ANC refused to recognise the jurisdiction of the Ciskei court.

On 7 September, about 80,000 protesters gathered outside Bisho, signalling the wide opposition to Gqozo's rule. The meeting was led by senior ANC leaders including South African Communist Party Secretary General Chris Hani, Cyril Ramaphosa, Steve Tshwete and Ronnie Kasrils. A razor wire was erected on the border between South Africa and Ciskei to prevent the marchers from entering Bisho. [2] When Kasrils led a group trying to break through the Ciskei Defence Force lines to enter Bisho, Ciskei Defence Force soldiers opened fire on the marchers with automatic weapons, killing 28 marchers and one soldier, and injuring over 200. More than 425 rounds were fired, the first fusillade lasting one and a half minutes, and the second lasting a minute. [4]

Various inquiries agreed that the order to fire came from Colonel Vakele Archibald Mkosana, who incorrectly told his commanders by radio that his troops were under fire, and was given permission to return fire. Rifleman Mzamile Thomas Gonya was also found to have opened fire with a grenade launcher, killing one marcher. [5]

Goldstone Commission

The Goldstone Commission was tasked with investigating the massacre, and Justice Richard Goldstone condemned Gqozo for preventing political activity in Ciskei as well as for the lethal brutality of the Ciskei Defence Force troops. It dismissed his claim that the demonstrators had fired first, and it was later found that a Ciskei soldier who died during the shooting had been shot by a fellow soldier. It recommended strong action against Gqozo and those responsible. It also condemned Ronnie Kasrils for his irresponsible action in leading marchers breaking through the razor wire and provoking the forces into opening fire. [6]

Aftermath

On 8 September 1992, a day after the massacre, the ANC released a statement demanding that Oupa Gqozo be removed as the leader of Ciskei, Section 43 of the Ciskei National Security Act which prevented political activity in Ciskei be revoked and South African Military Intelligence officials be removed from Ciskei. [2] Ultimately, the massacre led to new negotiations between the ANC and the government. Nelson Mandela met De Klerk on 26 September and signed a Record of Understanding, establishing an independent body to oversee police operations. [7] [ page needed ]

Gqozo remained in power in Ciskei but resigned shortly before the elections of 27 April 1994.

A granite monument was erected on the site of the massacre, outside Independence Stadium, off Maitland Road between Bhisho and King William's Town. It was unveiled by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1997. The victims were buried in Ginsberg township outside King William's Town. Each year during the month of September, the Bisho Massacre Memorial Lecture is held to commemorate the massacre and various leaders from around South Africa take part in it. [8]

Truth Commission hearing and prosecution

Only two applications for amnesty for the massacre were received by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, from Colonel Mkosana, who gave the order to open fire, and Rifleman Gonya, who fired a grenade launcher. Gqozo agreed to testify before the TRC, but failed to appear after being admitted to a psychiatric hospital suffering from depression. [9] [10]

In 2000, both Mkosana and Gonya were denied amnesty on the grounds that their actions were reckless and disproportionate and not associated with a political motive. [11]

Following their failure to receive amnesty, Mkosana and Gonya were charged with one count of murder and Mkosana with 28 counts of culpable homicide. They were found not guilty on all charges on the grounds of self-defence. [5] [12]

Testifying at a Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing on the massacre, Gqozo's former deputy, Col Silence Pita, revealed that Gqozo had received a message stating that the Mkhonto Wesizwe was planning coup and would take us where we didn't want to be " but the source of the information had not been made clear in the report. Pita said security arrangements for an African National Congress march on 7 September 1992 were left to the Ciskei Defence Force. [13]

Former Ciskei foreign affairs minister Mickey Webb testified that the Ciskei government had been maneuvered into a confrontation with the ANC by South Africa's intelligence services. He claimed that South African Military Intelligence and Ciskei's own intelligence agency fed the Ciskei government with misinformation "which could only have ended up in confrontation between the authorities and the ANC". [13]

Victims

These are the names of protesters who died on the shooting of Ciskei Defence Force:

#Name (s)Surname (s)
1ThembinkosiBillie
2PeterBooi
3SiphoCologu
4MzwamadodaDyantyi
5Vuyani LeslieFulani
6Hambile KingGadu
7Mongezi MossetGibe
8ThobaniGola
9NkululekoHlanganyane
10XolaniKaleni
11ThobileKali
12SiphoKhundulu
13ZwelitshaLali
14Mbulelo GeorgeMangona
15Siputsu CameronMatikinca
16Vukani GoodmanMbula
17JongileMene
18MondeMfene
19NkosemntuMotman
20Mnyamezeli NathanielMyeha
21Harold NdodanaNdzilane
22TwelveNgamntwini
23HeadmamNontshinga
24ZolileNoqayi
25ZamileNqwala
26NosiphoNtenyana
27LuzukoRamncwana
28Zanethemba BenjaminSkephu

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhisho</span> Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Bhisho, alternatively rendered Bisho, is the capital of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. The Office of the Premier, Provincial Legislature and many other government departments are headquartered in the town. The town, three kilometres from Qonce and 70 kilometres from East London, is also part of Buffalo City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciskei</span> Former bantustan in South Africa (1981-94)

Ciskei was a Bantustan for the Xhosa people-located in the southeast of South Africa. It covered an area of 7,700 square kilometres (3,000 sq mi), almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean.

1994 in South Africa saw the transition from South Africa's National Party government who had ruled the country since 1948 and had advocated the apartheid system for most of its history, to the African National Congress (ANC) who had been outlawed in South Africa since the 1950s for its opposition to apartheid. The ANC won a majority in the first multiracial election held under universal suffrage. Previously, only white people were allowed to vote. There were some incidents of violence in the Bantustans leading up to the elections as some leaders of the Bantusans opposed participation in the elections, while other citizens wanted to vote and become part of South Africa. There were also bombings aimed at both the African National Congress and the National Party and politically-motivated murders of leaders of the opposing ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

1990 in South Africa saw the official start of the process of ending Apartheid. President of South Africa, eid. President De Klerk unbanned organisations that were banned by the government including the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and the Pan Africanist Congress. The African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe, suspends its armed activity within South Africa. Political prisoners including Nelson Mandela were released. Nelson Mandela met ANC leader Oliver Tambo for the first time in 28 years at a meeting in Sweden. Mandela also traveled to England to thank the people for their support in the campaign to free him. South Africa withdrew its troops from Namibia, which was granted independence. 1990 also saw marches in support and against the formation of a new post-Apartheid South Africa.

The following lists events that happened during 1992 in South Africa.

Joshua Oupa Gqozo was the military ruler of the former homeland of Ciskei in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Kasrils</span> South African politician

Ronald Kasrils is a South African politician, Marxist revolutionary, guerrilla and military commander. He was Minister for Intelligence Services from 27 April 2004 to 25 September 2008. He was a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1987 to 2007 as well as a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party (SACP) from December 1986 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa</span> 1990–93 summits to end formal segregation and racial discrimination policies

The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution of 1996; and in South Africa's first non-racial elections in 1994, won by the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Bophuthatswana crisis</span> Crisis in South Africa

The 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis was a major political crisis which began after Lucas Mangope, the president of Bophuthatswana, a South African bantustan created under apartheid, attempted to crush widespread labour unrest and popular demonstrations demanding the incorporation of the territory into South Africa pending non-racial elections later that year. Violent protests immediately broke out following President Mangope's announcement on 7 March that Bophuthatswana would boycott the South African general elections. This was escalated by the arrival of right-wing Afrikaner militias seeking to preserve the Mangope government. The predominantly black Bophuthatswana Defence Force and police refused to cooperate with the white extremists and mutinied, they then forced the Afrikaner militias to leave Bophuthatswana.

The Boipatong massacre took place on the night of 17 June 1992 in the township of Boipatong, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciskei Defence Force</span> Defence force of Ciskei

The Ciskei Defence Force (CDF) was established during March 1981 from the 141 Battalion of the South African Defence Force (SADF). It was the defence force of Ciskei, a bantustan that was controlled by the apartheid regime of South Africa. The CDF functioned as part of the 21 Battalion based near Lenasia, outside Johannesburg.

The Goldstone Commission, formally known as the Commission of Inquiry Regarding the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation, was appointed on 24 October 1991 to investigate political violence and intimidation in South Africa. Over its three-year lifespan, it investigated incidents occurring between July 1991 and April 1994, when democratic elections were held. The relevant incidents thus occurred during the negotiations to end apartheid. The Commission's mandate was both to investigate the causes of the violence and to recommend measures to contain or prevent it.

Boipatong Vanderbijlpark is a township in Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1955 to house black residents who worked in Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">111 Battalion</span> Military unit

111 Battalion was a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">151 Battalion</span> Military unit

151 South African Infantry Battalion was a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">118 Battalion</span> Military unit

118 South African Infantry Battalion was a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 raid on Mthatha</span>

On 8 October 1993, Mzwandile Mfeya, Sandiso Yose, twins Samora and Sadat Mpendulo and Thando Mtembu were shot dead in a South African Defence Force (SADF) raid on an alleged base of the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), the Pan Africanist Congress' military wing, at the Mpendulo family home in the Northcrest suburb of Mthatha. The house belonged to a PAC member Sicelo Mpendulo, the father of Samora and Sadat. According to PAC and police sources in the Transkei, the five victims were killed in their beds. The raid was authorised by President F. W. de Klerk.

Lt. General Xhanti Charles Sebe was leader of the Ciskei Defence Force- the military of the Bantustan of Ciskei, and its Director of State Security. A former Security Branch policeman, he later joined the South African Bureau of State Security (B.O.S.S.) before founding the Ciskei state security apparatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Ciskei coup d'état</span> Bloodless military coup détat in Ciskei in 1990

The 1990 Ciskei coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Ciskei, an unrecognised state and a nominally independent South African homeland for the Xhosa people, which took place on 4 March 1990. The coup was led by the then 37-year-old Brigadier Oupa Gqozo, the Chief of Staff Intelligence of the Ciskei Defence Force, against the government of President for Life Lennox Sebe (CNIP), who was on a state visit to Hong Kong at the time. The coup was followed by widespread rioting and looting, prompting Gqozo to request that the South African government send SADF troops to help restore order.

The Ciskei National Independence Party (CNIP) was a political party in the nominally independent South African homeland of Ciskei. It was founded and led by Lennox Sebe. The party advocated cooperation with the South African government. The party governed Ciskei from 1973 until the 1990 coup d'état by Oupa Gqozo.

References

  1. ↑ "Ciskei". South African History Online. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bisho massacre revisited". SABC. Retrieved 25 June 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Sparks, Allister (1994). Tomorrow is Another Country. Struik.
  4. ↑ "Bhisho Massacre". Buffalo City Municipality. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  5. 1 2 Feni, Lulamile & Flanagan, Louise (1 June 2001). "Two face trial for Bisho massacre". Dispatch Online. Archived from the original on 1 July 2006.
  6. ↑ "Goldstone Commission investigates the Bisho Massacre". South African History Online. Archived from the original on 19 September 2006. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  7. ↑ Mandela, Nelson (1994). Long Walk to Freedom .
  8. ↑ "The ANC should acknowledge it is sick". EWN. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Gqozo's to Testify at TRC Hearing on Bisho Massacre". SAPA. 9 September 1996.
  10. ↑ "Gqozo's Lawyers Deny TRC Contact on Hearing Date". SAPA. 1 October 1996.
  11. ↑ "Amnesty Committee". Trth and Reconciliation Commission. 2000. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  12. ↑ Flanagan, Louise (14 March 2002). "Mkosana, Gonya freed on all charges". Dispatch Online. Archived from the original on 29 July 2005.
  13. 1 2 "The Bisho march and massacre: An assessment". O'Malley Heart of Hope. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.