Massive political disturbances, unprecedented in South African history, continued throughout July and August following the Soweto and other upheavals in June. All the main urban areas and several Bantustans were affected by the unrest. The burning and destruction of schools, government offices, buses and other vehicles became endemic, while marches, demonstrations and acts of protest and violence proliferated throughout the black townships. By 22 August it was estimated that:
- 253 persons had been killed; - 1,500 had been injured; - over 1,800 had been arrested on charges of public violence, arson, looting, attending unlawful gatherings etc; - over 100 schools had been destroyed or damaged; - about 90 beerhalls and liquor stores damaged or destroyed; - over 100 offices, at least 200 police and private vehicles, over 100 buses, and numerous homes, clinics, post offices, hostels, banks and libraries had been damaged or destroyed.
After the initial wave of protests in June the level of mass activity fell off and the first two weeks of July were quieter. But the townships remained tense, and isolated outbreaks of violence occurred in several parts of the country. Sweeping arrests and the disappearance of numerous children caused mounting anxiety and resentment, as did other acts of repression such as the government's refusal to allow mass funerals. In this situation the announcement on 6 July by the Minister of Bantu Education that the compulsory use of Afrikaans in African schools would be dropped did little to allay African feelings. With the militancy of the youth still running high the government faced a dilemma - whether or not to allow African schools to re-open on 20 July after the winter vacation. On 16 July Mr. Kruger, Minister of Justice, Police and Prisons, ordered strong police patrols into Soweto, put police units on stand-by throughout the Witwatersrand, renewed the ban on all public gatherings, invoked the new preventive detention clause of the Internal Security Amendment Act, and declared that African schools in the Transvaal would remain closed until agitation had ceased.
Despite these measures, pupil agitation continued and students at Fort Hare staged a demonstration which caused the authorities to close the campus, while at the nearby Lovedale Teachers Training College arson destroyed the administrative building. On 20 July three Transvaal townships erupted: Lynnville, near Witbank; Mhluzi, near Middleburg; and Khutsong, near Carletonville. But Soweto maintained an uneasy calm and on 21 July Mr. Kruger announced that the schools would reopen the next day. Most pupils on the Reef boycotted classes, however, and in many areas pupils clashed with police and schools were attacked or destroyed, e.g. (1) the Transvaal towns of Boksburg, Benoni, Vanderbijlpark, Nelspruit, Randfontein, Brakpan; (2) the Transvaal 'homelands' of Bophuthatswana and Venda; (3) at Ladysmith, Eshowe, and Amanzimtoti in Natal.
By the last week in July the rebellion in African schools had spread to the northern Cape, parts of the Free State and elsewhere in Natal. The security police continued to detain leading figures in the Black Consciousness movement, but meanwhile in Soweto both absenteeism and arson spread as the inability of the authorities to control events became more apparent. By now, as in some of the looting in June, the predominant element involved in some of the arson were "tsotsis" - unemployed hooligans in the African townships. But with the government relying on repression, and showing no interest in the roots of the problem, black parents were unsuccessful in their efforts to defuse the situation.
Next, on 4 August a massive demonstration of over 20,000 youths took place in Soweto. Marching in columns converging from various parts of the township, they arrived at Johannesburg's police HQ John Vorster Square, where they planned to demand the release of detained students. But strong police cordons foiled the plan; police fire killed two and injured dozens, and once more the ensuing frustration and violence were released within the townships. Other centres of protest included the UWC campus and Khutsong location, Carletonville.
From then on events moved swiftly from climax to climax:
5th - 60% stay-at-home by Soweto inhabitants. Violence spreads to East Rand. 6th - more shootings, 22 died or injured in past 3 days. Youth demonstrating and arson breaking out in many areas. Police put on stand-by throughout the country. 8/9th - unrest spreads to New Brighton township, Port Elizabeth; also to Mafeking (where the Bophuthatswana legislature was gutted by fire), Hammanskraal (near Pretoria) and Alexandra Township (Johannesburg) where 2 people were killed. 11th - Cape Town's 3 African townships erupted for the first time since 1960. Within 2 days the death toll reached 27 with more than 100 injured. Coloured schools came out in solidarity. 16th - Coloured townships affected for the first time. 17th - East London sees its first clash between African township dwellers and police. 18th - renewed clashes in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage - 10 Africans killed by police, over 20 injured. 23rd - first day of a stay-at-home strike by Soweto workers gets 80% backing from labour force.
The main response of the authorities to the unrest has been to step up repression. Numerous baton-charges, tear gas incidents and shootings have served to control or break up crowd activities. These have been accompanied by widespread, and sometimes wholesale arrests. Numerous prosecutions of "rioters" have been instigated, and a virtual state of undeclared emergency has existed for much of the past two months. Key elements in this repressive policy have been detention without trial and the prohibition of gatherings.
