Soweto student uprising was the turning point that would lead to the downfall of apartheid

FORTY years ago Soweto made world headlines as police gunned down students protesting a government directive, an event that would eventually lead to the downfall of apartheid.

Antoniette Pieterson (left) accompanies Mbuyisa Makhubo, 18, who carries her brother Hector, who was killed after police fired on students in Soweto. Pietersen was the first victim of the “Soweto uprising” which gave birth to the movement that defeated apartheid.

SOWETO is one of those infamous names that punctuate the history of South Africa. Forty years ago this black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg made world headlines as the site of yet another apartheid atrocity.

It was there that students protesting about compulsory lessons in Afrikaans, the language of the white minority, were confronted by police who opened fire on the crowd of students. Officially there were 23 deaths but other estimates suggest hundreds died.

The shootings at Soweto drew world condemnation. But rather than frightening the population into submission the violent reaction inspired a greater resistance to the apartheid regime. It marked a turning point in the political consciousness of blacks in South Africa that would eventually lead to the downfall of apartheid.

The catalyst for the Soweto uprising was a 1974 directive from the South African Minister of Bantu Education and Development Michiel Coenraad Botha that “for the sake of uniformity English and Afrikaans will be used as media of instruction in our schools on a 50-50 basis”.

Students protest compulsory Afrikaans teaching in schools in Soweto in June 1976.

To outsiders it might have seemed inoffensive given that English and Afrikaans, a derivative of Dutch, were both widely spoken across the country. But both languages were primarily white languages and Afrikaans was specifically associated with the white ruling class. Bishop of Lesotho, Desmond Tutu, called it the “language of the oppressor”.

The changes, introduced without consultation, were meant to be implemented in 1975 but by the beginning of 1976 resistance within black schools grew stronger. Many teachers and students were not fluent in Afrikaans so the directive would have a negative impact on some teachers’ ability to teach and on students’ grades.

The government insisted the measures be implemented, because as they paid for schools to be run they had the right to dictate the rules. However, the black schools were not subsidised by the government, instead funded by fees and parental contributions.

Students held meetings to discuss action, including strikes and protests. At a meeting in Orlando, Soweto, on June 13, a mass protest was organised for June 16. The students agreed not to involve parents, worried that they might try to stop the protest. Some teachers became involved but emphasised that the students should be peaceful and orderly.

Antoniette Pieterson (left) accompanies Mbuyisa Makhubo, 18, who carries her brother Hector, who was killed after police fired on students in Soweto. Pietersen was the first victim of the “Soweto uprising” which gave birth to the movement that defeated apartheid.

It is estimated that more than 20,000 students — in school uniform — turned out for the protest. The police were soon alerted and blocked the progress, ordering them to disperse.

The protesters stood firm, chanting anti-apartheid slogans. Police released attack dogs to intimidate the crowd. According to some sources the students unleashed a hail of rocks to defend themselves against the dogs, killing at least one of the animals, prompting the police to fire into the crowd. According to other sources the shots started before a single stone was thrown.

It soon became a riot, with students trying to fight back, setting fire to police vehicles and police shooting at students. One of the students killed was a 13-year-old boy Hector Pieterson, who would later be photographed dead in the arms of fellow protester Mbuyisa Makhubo, an image that was flashed around the world. Makhubo later fled the country.

At least 23 people died on that first day, including white people who had come to give their support. On June 17 hundreds more students poured into the streets, turning the protest into an uprising.

A force of 1500 troops was deployed to quell the riot, adding to the death toll, which, according to an investigation by a US paper, was more than 300 with thousands more injured. White doctors are said to have refused to record the cases of bullet wounds that filled their casualty wards.

When the riot continued into its third day, the government closed schools in the area. The uprising inspired sympathetic protests across the country, by blacks and whites.

By the end of the year, hundreds had died in violence that continued through to the end of the year. South Africa was rife for change and the Soweto uprising became a spark for that change.

Originally published as Soweto student uprising was the turning point that would lead to the downfall of apartheid