According to the Minister of Police at the end of 1977, 240 persons were detained under the Terrorism Act, and 61 persons under the Internal Security Act. This contradicts estimates from the SAIRR which put the November figure at over 770, but does not include those held under the General Law Amendment Act or as potential witnesses under the Criminal Procedure Act.
A total of 313 persons were detained in 1977 as potential witnesses, according to the Minister. These were 224 in Transvaal, 54 in Natal, 31 in Cape and four in Natal. All except two were Africans, and 95 were still in detention on 2 February.
A total of 259 young persons under 18 years old (23 of whom were girls) were detained during 1977. The Minister of Police refused further information and said all were 'actively engaged in committing arson, incitement to public violence, stone throwing and the general disruption of law and order'.
In November it was reported that around 50 young people - several under 15 years old - from Cape Town were in detention. After their names were given to the press by the dependants Conference several were released. The mentally retarded boy of 11 was released after 12 days.
In addition to those reported in FOCUS 14 they were: From Guguletu M. Laurence MAYEKISO (12) detained and released in November Simon T. KEWANA (13) det. and rel. Nov. Yalezwa SINGISWA (13) det. Sept. Edward MDLANKOMO (14) det. and rel. Nov. Andile KOTIA (14) det. Oct. Tatan NTLEBI (14) det. and rel. Nov. Andrew MATSHABISA (15) det. and rel. Nov. George W. KEWANA (15) det. and rel. Nov. Fezile MVULA (15) det. Nov. Oupa K. LEHULERE (16) det. July, rel. Nov. Sipho SINGISWA (16) det. July Siviwe GANJANA (16) det. Nov. Headman TSHOKOSHA (17) det. Nov. Raymond DYASI (17) det. April, rel. Nov. B. Mandla MOKANA (17) det. Nov. Jongilanga K. BOQWANA (18) det. Oct. Mbouki SIDZUMO (18) det. Sept. Wandisile YOYO (18) det. Sept. Amos MNGESE (18) det. July rel. Nov. Daniel Vuyisile MANGABE (19) det. and rel. Nov. Stanley JONAS (19) det. Oct. Edward M. KIBI (19) det. and rel. Nov. Amos KOTA (20) det. Oct. Ernest THOMPSON (20) det. Sept. Upington NXUSANI (20) det. Nov. Sipho LANGA (21) det. April; rel. Nov. Zolile W. MONI (21) det. July Monica Nonshumi MBEYIYA (21) det. Sept. S. Mzolisi PASIYA (21) det. Nov. Elijah NTSHINGA (23) det. Nov. Samuel F. GQIBA (27) det. Aug. rel. Nov. Danile LANDINGWE, det. Aug., held at Bloemfontein Vuyan VABAZA, det. July; Zolile NDINDWA, det. August; Zolile MASAMANZI, det. August; Bathembu NGULWANA, det. August; Tapepe MAKUBALO (21) det. August - all held at Bloemfontein. Others Edwin VANYAZA (21) Ceban MTOBA (17) Pardon NQUKWANA
One of those detained in Cape Town, a 17-year-old who was not named, was the subject of a court application brought by his father to re-strain the police from assaulting him. The youth was detained on 8 November; messages received from other detainees indicated that the youth had been repeatedly assaulted by the police, that his jaw had been fractured by a kick, that he was partially deaf and that the soles of his feet were swollen. Later when collecting his clothes from Caledon Square police station his mother found three teeth in a bloodstained trouser pocket.
A temporary injunction against the police was granted from 13-18 January when it was opposed by the police who filed medical and dental reports saying that the youth was in good health and had two teeth professionally extracted following toothache. The boy's father was ordered to pay the costs of two counsel and three medical specialists.
Other detentions under the Transkei Public Security Act in 1977 included two churchmen responsible for organising a memorial meeting to Steve Biko in Umtata: Rev. Prince INTINTILI, Secretary of the S.A. Bible Society (detained 14 October) and Rev. Mcebisi XUNDU, BCP official (detained 26 October). Both were released on 29th January. On 13 November Job MKROLA, a former Minister of Works in the Ciskei was detained at Lady Frere.
Hector NCOKAZI of the Democratic Party was again detained in mid-January.
Early in November several people were reported detained in the King Williams Town area apparently under the new Ciskei Emergency Regulations. They included Stanley KABA, a former Robben Island prisoner banished from his Grahamstown home on release and working as a freelance journalist; W. NYATI principal of Imighayi secondary school (detained 23 October) and Mahlubandile RADEBE (19) attorney's clerk in Zwelitshana.
Churchmen and teachers were among those detained in Johannesburg on 1 December including Rev. Tebogo MOSELANE of St. Johns Anglican Church, Soweto; Stephen M. MONTJANE, curate at Crown Mines church; Mike JORDAAN, Lucas NGAKANE and Ishmael MKHABELA, all of Soweto Teachers Action Committee. At least seven others were released within four days; the arrests appeared to coincide with the closing of the Biko inquest.
The continuing detention of Sechaba MONTSITI of the Soweto Students Representative Council (detained in June) at John Vorster Square was confirmed by police in December.
Other detentions included that of Vincent WYNGAARDT, Youth organiser for the SAIRR in the Eastern Cape (detained in October).
A former Robben Island prisoner Sam Mutle RAHUBE escaped from security police detention in Maritzburg on 31 December.
Rahube, a former member of the Pan Africanist Congress had been in detention since February 1977 apparently in connection with the trial of Zeph Motopeng and others. He was released from Robben Island in 1973 after serving a ten year sentence. He escaped from detention while police were celebrating New Years Eve and crossed into Lesotho a week later, where he applied for political asylum.
In February an official list of those held in preventive detention under the Internal Security Act since the clampdown in October 1977 was issued. Most of the orders were made on 12 October under Section 15 of the Act and are due to expire on 10 August 1978.
17.1.78 Mandla and Nomsisi KHUZWAYO, both of Turret Correspondence College, Johannesburg. 24.1.78 Jeffrey NALA, Bongamusa ZUNGU (17) Richard MCHUNU (17) and Fortune BENGU (19) - all of Durban. 3.2.78 J. MAGASELA of Durban, candidate in KwaZulu election.
