Upington 26

On 13 November 1985, a crowd of 3000 anti-apartheid protesters gathered at a soccer field in Pabalello, Upington were teargassed by riot police. The crowd dispersed in different directions. A group of 200 residents gathered outside House No 405, Pilane Street and the home of municipal police officer Lucas Sethwala. The group started chanting and throwing stones at the Sethwala home. Sethwala fired two shots at the crowd, wounding a young boy. He fled the house and ran towards J Shumane Hall. He was caught by the crowd, stoned, hit with his rifle butt and set alight. Twenty-six people were charged with participation in the killing of Sethwala. Out of the 26, 25 were convicted of murder on the basis of common purpose and 14 were sentenced to death. The twenty-sixth person was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to eight years. The group of individuals who faced charges for the murder of Lucas Sethwala became known as the Upington 26.[1]

Background

During Apartheid, job reservation was instituted in the town of Upington in the now Northern Cape province of South Africa. Jobs were granted to White, then Coloured and lastly Black work-seekers. Paballelo, a Black township located 10 kilometres outside of Upington, was dealing with social problems such as poverty, unemployment, overcrowding, evictions and alcohol abuse. In early 1985, classes at Pabalello High School were boycotted by students who had complained to the Department of Education and Training about poorly qualified teachers.[1] The students formed the Paballelo Youth Organisation to address the issue with the Department. In June 1985, the Paballelo Parents Committee was formed to protest overcrowding, poor living conditions and high unemployment in the township. They called for a rent boycott and, by November 1985, rent arrears in Paballelo stood at 1.9 million Rand. As unrest grew in the township the youth formed the Upington Youth Organisation (UYO) in the second half of 1985. [2]

The UYO was keen to hold meetings between the young and old people in Paballelo to come up with solutions to the problems facing the community. UYO did not have faith in the Upington Town Council to address the grievances of people in Upington. The organisation held a public meeting to address social problems facing Pabalello at J Shumane Hall on 10 November 1985. The meeting was addressed by residents who voiced their grievances such as poverty, unemployment, rent, lack of street lights and alcohol abuse. Some residents complained that some police had confiscated meat from hawkers and emptied paraffin tins for sale. Municipal policemen Lucas Sethwala and Desmond Mdluli were singled out for their aggressive behaviour towards residents. [1]

After the meeting a group of youth went to a local soccer field where a soccer match between local sides Pabalello Chiefs and Eleven Experience was taking place. They began to sing, dance and eventually ran onto the pitch to disrupt the game. A South African Police Services Casspir arrived on the scene to put an end to the disruption. Stones were thrown at the police and they retaliated by throwing teargas at the crowd. The police managed to disperse the crowd. However, the house of Paballelo High School principal Mr Xaba was damaged as was the car of Mr Nokomozana, the Town Manager. Captain Botha from the local police department sought help from Captain Van Dyk and his riot unit based in Kimberley. On 11 November, Captain van Dyk and his unit arrived in Paballelo and began patrolling the township. Captain van Dyk's unit shot and killed a pregnant young woman, Mariam Blaauw, whom they alleged had committed acts of violence. On 12 November the Paballelo Parents Committee called a rally to protest against the killing and the wider repression in the township. Their rally was declared an ‘illegal gathering’ and police dispersed the crowd with teargas and rubber bullets.[1]

A rumour spread that the police would offer an explanation of these events at the local club, Eleven Experience's soccer field. On 13 November 1985, a crowd of 3000 people gathered at the soccer field around 6:40am A Casspir under the command of Captain Botha arrived at the soccer field at 6:45am whereby he declared the gathering as illegal. Captain Botha then announced that the crowd had 10 minutes to disperse. However, the crowd sang and prayed instead. After Captain Botha announced that the 10 minutes had expired the police began firing teargas canisters until the crowd dispersed in different directions. One group went towards the male hostel, the other headed towards Shimane Hall and the other ran into the township. One of routes taken by the crowd was Pilane Street where municipal officer Lucas Sethwala lived at House No 405. A group of 200 people gathered outside his house and started throwing stones. At the time, Lucas Sethwala, his family and the Xaba family were inside the house. Sethwala fired two shots at the crowd and injured a boy named Dawid Visagie. Sethwala fled from House 405 to House No 407 to hide. The owner of House No 407 requested Sethwala to leave. He left and ran towards Shimane Hall. He was caught by the crowd, disarmed, struck twice over the head with the butt of his own gun and set alight.

According to evidence at the trial that followed Sethwala's death, 60 people attacked and killed Sethwala. All alibis from the defendants were regarded as invalid and the testimony of the witnesses for the defense was not used.[1]

The Upington 26

In the months following Lucas Sethwala’s death the police arrested 39 local residents, seemingly at random, of whom 26 eventually stood trial.[2] The court received evidence from 150 witnesses. The state called six witnesses: Beatrice Sethwala, the mother of the deceased Lucas Sethwala, Magdaline Sethwala, the sister of the deceased, sisters Linerose and Roseline Xaba, daughters of Paballelo High School principal Mr Xaba, who were with their mother inside House No 405 when it was attacked. The other two state witnesses were Douglas Khambule who lived in House No 406 Pilane Street, next door to the Sethwala's and his son Desmond Khambule. The witnesses who were inside the house testified they had been afraid, days before Sethwala's death, and hid in the wardbrobe or under the bed. However, despite issues with the testimonies, the court found their accounts to be accurate and reliable. [1]

Conviction and release

After examining a 403 page summary of the trial, Justice J Basson found 25 of the defendants were found guilty of murder on the basis of common purpose, and one was found guilty of attempted murder on 13 November 1985. Basson handed down death sentences to fourteen defendants for the murder of municipal police officer Lucas Sethwala 26 May 1989. The rest of the twenty-six accused received sentences ranging from six to eight years imprisonment and another six defendants were sentenced to community service.[3] The fourteen defendants who were sentenced to death became known as the "Upington 14". In 1990 their death sentences were overturned on appeal.

In 1992, after the unbanning of political parties and release of political prisoners, the Upington 26 were released. [4]

Legacy

A monument erected in memory of the Upington 26 was unveiled in 2011. [5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Upington: A Story of Trials and Reconciliation (PDF). Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Marching to save the lives of the Upington 14". Non-Stop Against Apartheid. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Upington 14 are sentenced". South African History Online. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Phaahla visits Upington 26 member". Upington. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Telling the story of the "Upington 26"". GroundUp. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
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