Massive pass raids in the Cape in July resulting in the arrest of more than 1,000 people, came after months of sustained action in the area by the police, and after a year of increased arrests under the pass laws.
On 16 July police surrounded Nyanga East Camp and arrested at least 1,000 people for pass offences. Six hundred and thirty-four of those arrested appeared in Langa Commissioner's Court and a special court at the Manenberg police station on 16 and 17 July. Later, on 16 July, about 800 people gathered outside the Langa Commissioner's Court in protest against the arrests. Riot Police fired tear gas canisters at the retreating crowd. On 20 July the police attacked again, firing tear gas at people squatting in a field near Crossroads. They had recently been evicted from Langa and unanimously agreed to refuse the free tickets the regime was offering to the bantustans. Two hundred squatters were arrested.
SUSTAINED ATTACKS The pass raids on these two days were the most intensive in the township so far this year. Throughout the past six months, the residents of Nyanga, Crossroads and Langa have been subjected to sustained harrassment from the police.
The first reported raid was on 12 March at Langa barracks. At least 400 of the over 600 people sharing 24 rooms at the barracks had been evicted on 9 March. On 12 March over 60 people were arrested by Western Cape Administration Board (WCAB) officers and regular police for pass offences. Some of the residents were injured in the attack and one man was admitted to hospital unconscious. On 13 March WCAB officers continued their harrassment, arresting many people as part of the week's pass raids throughout Langa.
During April and May people continued to be charged with pass offences. On 6 and 7 May 49 women, all with young children, appeared before the Langa Commissioner's Court.
REMOVALS 55 women were forcibly removed from Crossroads on 22 May, after Board officials had instructed their husbands to come with their wives to the Administration Board offices to collect passes. Only the men were issued with passes and the women were endorsed out to the Transkei and Ciskei. Five days later at least 30 of the women returned to Crossroads in defiance.
The figures provided by the Dept of Police and WCAB give an indication of the intensified application of the pass laws in the Cape Peninsula. There were 5,644 more arrests in 1980 than in 1979, according to these official statistics. In 1980, 32 pass cases were heard daily in Langa Commissioner's Court. This year the Chairman of the WCAB, Brigadier van der Westhuizen, reported that the Board officials were arresting 70 people a day for pass offences. The Langa Commissioner's Court processes 2 cases a minute.
The WCAB has not provided details about the aid centres which deal with large numbers of people, some of whom have been arrested and others who are referred by the Administration Boards. In May, Board officials were given instructions to refer all cases to the Langa Aid Centre.
RESISTANCE Various organisations and individuals have expressed concern at the arrests and conduct of the police and at the lack of housing in the area. Men and women in the community affected by the recent actions have shown their determination to remain in Cape Town. One resident said: "Transkei is about starvation. We are hungry and we must stay here". Crossroads residents continue to resist what a researcher described as "the new more subtle enforcement of unchanged government policy".
