Black Consciousness leader Steve BIKO, 30, died in detention on 12 September. His death brings the number of people known to have died in political detention to 24 since March 1976 and 46 since 1963.
Biko was honorary president of the Black Peoples Convention (BPC) and a leading exponent of the Black Consciousness movement. He had suffered much official harassment although never found guilty in a court of law. In 1973 he was banned and restricted to King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape. In August 1976 he was detained and interned under the Internal Security Act for 101 days. Earlier this year he was charged twice, firstly for allegedly inciting students to commit perjury in a Grahamstown sabotage trial, for which he was acquitted on 13 July (see FOCUS 10 p.15, 12 p.10); and secondly for breaking his banning order with two other people in early July. Before this case was concluded Biko was detained on 19 August at a road block and held in Port Elizabeth, allegedly in connexion with pamphlets 'inciting arson and violence'.
His death was announced on 13 September. Justice Minister Kruger claimed Biko had begun a hunger strike on 5 September and had been medically examined five times between 7-9 September as he 'appeared unwell'. On the night of 11 September he was transferred 700 miles to Pretoria where he died on the following day. (RDM 14.9.77)
A post-mortem was begun immediately although the pathologist engaged by the Biko family was only informed after the autopsy had begun. This was completed by 18 September and according to reports, the preliminary findings indicated brain damage, a finding supported by the appearance of Biko's head at the funeral parlour, where observers noted swelling and an injury to the forehead. These were later confirmed by photographs taken just before the funeral (RDM 19.9.77; Evening Standard 25.10.77). Other reports mentioned broken ribs and chest injuries. (RDM 20/30.9.77).
Many commentators laid the blame for Biko's death on the security police, and there was widespread scepticism at the official explanations, which were in some cases contradictory. The African National Congress said on 15 September that Biko's death illustrated the apartheid regime's determination to pursue its savage method of executing political opponents without bringing them to trial (BBC 17.9.77) while the BPC said Biko had not died in vain. His death 'can only feed and fan the flame of liberation which cannot be extinguished by retribution forces'. (RDM 15.9.77)
The funeral took place at King Williams Town on 25 September, attended by many thousands of mourners. Twelve Western countries sent representatives: United States, Great Britain, West Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Italy and France (RDM 24/26.9.77). In London a memorial service in St. Paul's Cathedral was conducted by Canon L. John Collins, president of International Defence and Aid Fund (MS 21.9.77)
There were several press reports, particularly by the East London Daily Dispatch, claiming that the post mortem had shown no signs of hunger strike, but evidence of injury to the head and ribcage (RDM 30.9.77). On 7 September the Rand Daily Mail published a report based on interviews with the doctors who examined Biko in Port Elizabeth, concluding that there had been much concern about his deteriorating condition in detention. A lumbar puncture was said to have been done, to determine the presence of brain damage. This led Kruger to complain to the Press Council, which issued a reprimand to the newspaper (RDM 7/8.10.77)
The official post mortem report, submitted to the Minister of Police on 24 October, found that death was caused by extensive brain damage resulting in a reduction of circulation to other organs, intravascular coagulation, acute renal failure and ureaemia. In addition there were other injuries. Not all were suffered at the same time: the damage occurred over a period of eight days before death, that is from 5 September when Biko was said to have begun his 'hunger strike'. From this it would appear that death occurred gradually following severe head injury. Although medically examined several times, there is no evidence that Biko received any medical treatment while in police custody. (T 26.10.77)
