A DET representative in the Cape attributed the stayaway and exam boycott there to the actions of Student Representative Councils (SRCs) who, he claimed, 'intimidated' pupils. Since the protests and boycotts, which began in May, police have banned student meetings calling for the Minister of Education and Training to allow parents, teachers and students to meet to resolve the crisis. In Khayelitsha, pupils were teargassed by police after they held a series of meetings to discuss effective staff-student representation.
Many students have protested to school authorities over their refusal to re-register ex-detainees, as well as demanding that the army withdraw from school premises.
In response to continuing resistance to incorporation into the Bophuthatswana bantustan two traditional leaders, Dadelik MAJASA from Leeuwfontein, and Pupsey SEBOKGODI from neighbouring Braklaagte, were detained on 2 July, the day after a clash in which nine policeman and two civilians were killed.
Over 10,000 Braklaagte residents have been opposing a decision taken in March by the South African government that they would remain under the jurisdiction of the Bophuthatswana authorities and lose title to their land. An appeal to the Supreme Court against the March decision was to be heard on 27 July. The 15,000 strong community at Leeuwfontein, the scene of the clashes between residents and police on 1 July, was incorporated into Bophuthatswana on 31 December last year at the same time as Braklaagte and by the same decree but without the residents' prior knowledge.
Tensions were exacerbated in both areas by the closure of schools after a series of protest boycotts over the presence of armed forces in schools. There were mass detentions and arrests following meetings in April and May expressing resistance to incorporation.
The police stated that the incident on 1 July, during which the deaths occurred, followed their attempt to break up what they believed to be an 'illegal' anti-incorporation meeting. Bojosi RAMOLOSANE, who spent four days in detention in May and was tortured by Bophuthatswana police for his involvement in community meetings, informed a newspaper reporter, however, that the meeting had been held to discuss the schools' closures and boycotts.
Dadelik Majasa told the Transvaal Rural Action Committee (TRAC) that police arrived in armoured cars, surrounded the group and after telling them to disperse, opened fire without further warning. TRAC members, local residents and churchworkers all reported that in the days immediately following the clash, they had observed 'hundreds' of people being 'rounded up' by Bophuthatswana police, with further statements alleging beatings, reportedly in revenge for the deaths of the policemen. On 17 July the bantustan authorities banned TRAC and the Black Nash from the area.
Residents also said that there were over a thousand people known to have been detained, at least 600 of whom were in Rooigrond Prison in Mmabatho, and many more were being treated for injuries in hospitals and clinics. Some were forced to flee to hillside cover as Bophuthatswana Defence Force helicopters with sharpshooters hunted them down and sealed off the area to outsiders.
The bantustan authorities later released 128 of 136 people they said they had arrested, charging eight with offences relating to public violence and murder. A further seven detainees at Lehurutshe Prison were due to face related charges of arson, bringing the total facing trial on 17 July to 14. All were subsequently granted bail. On his release from detention Sebokgodi was also restricted in his activities. Families of the remaining detainees have been refused access to their relatives, many of whom were working with lawyers to bring charges against the authorities for assault of prisoners whilst in detention.
Steven PASHE (30), a prisoner sentenced to five years' imprisonment for undergoing military training with the ANC, died in hospital on 10 June. He began his sentence in December 1987 on Robben Island and was later transferred to Pollsmoor Prison. Lawyers said Pashe suffered from either tuberculosis or lung cancer and his death raised concern about medical treatment and conditions in prisons. In March, three months before his death, lawyers received a letter in which Pashe complained of breathing difficulties. He was not admitted to hospital until 24 April, although prison officials said that at the time of his imprisonment he was diagnosed as having 'a serious illness'.
On 5 July Nelson Mandela was taken to the State President's official Cape Town residence where he met P W Botha. Mandela was permitted to make a statement in response to the widespread speculation about his release aroused by the meeting. Mandela said his release was 'not an issue at this stage' and reaffirmed his position that 'dialogue with the mass democratic movement and, in particular the ANC, is the only way of ending violence'.
Helene PASSTOORS (46), a dual Dutch and Belgian citizen, was released from Pretoria Prison on 10 May having served three years of a 10-year sentence for treason. As a condition of her release, Passtoors signed an undertaking not to 'participate in' or 'encourage' the armed struggle nor to enter South or Southern Africa. On her arrival in Belgium, she said she was not 'bound by a note . . . imposed in a situation in which real free choice was impossible' and remained 'dedicated to' and would 'continue to support' the struggle in South Africa.
To secure her release the Belgian government agreed to re-instate South African diplomats expelled in 1988 and to restrict Passtoors' freedom to travel to Southern Africa. However, the legal basis for imposing passport restrictions on a person sentenced abroad, as well as the question of whether Belgium should abide by South Africa's decisions were 'under study'. Her lawyers said the conditions of her release had no legal basis and the imposition of travel restrictions would be challenged.
Wayne Jordaan (21) was released from Pollsmoor Prison on 31 May having served two years of a three-year sentence imposed for public violence.
Amos LENGISI (51) was released from Robben Island on 26 March on completion of a 20-year sentence. He was convicted by the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court under the Terrorism and Suppression of Communism Acts, for undergoing and inciting others to go for military training and finding routes to combatants to enter South Africa. Lengisi joined the ANC Youth League in 1958, and became branch secretary in Umtata. In the 1960s he was active in the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) and was later elected to its national executive.
Funani Benny NTOELE (47) and Johnson NYATHI (44) were released from Robben Island on 4 July having completed ten-year sentences imposed for 'terrorism' by the Bethal Court after an eighteen month trial of 16 PAC members.
In March, four members of the Soweto Students Congress were freed after their prison sentences were suspended for four years on appeal. On 24 August 1988 Elias Siphiwe KHUNOU (20), Kenneth Mandla LEKELAKALA (21) and Moses Velaphi LALE (21) were jailed for six years for possession of arms and ammunition and Abednego RADEBE was sentenced to one year for possession of a hand grenade.
