Unit 2 1976:

Soweto uprising
Causes, leaders, the events of June 16, events
which spreads and the consequences it has across the country,
Long-term consequences for resistance and repression

1960s the government

introduced repressive
legislation to prevent any
further uprisings.

Anyone could be jailed for

90 days without a trial.

Later changed to 180 days

 Nelson Mandela left the
country illegally to set up
What did training bases for MK.
Nelson
Mandela do On his return, he was arrested
outside Howick in Natal.
and what were
his
consequences? Was sentenced to 5 years in
prison.
 Note!!!
What
The ANC's secret
headquarters(s) were at was 11 July
Lilliesleaf farm in
Rivonia in the white
area of Johannesburg.
their 1963
plan?
They devised a The security
plan called police arrived at
"Operation the farm in a
Mayibuye". laundry dress.

They arrested all

To overthrow the
the main ANC
government using
leaders and
armed revolution
accused them of
and gruella
221 acts of
tactics.
treason.
The Rivinia trial:
• Nelson Mandela have delivered a long speech.
What did Thabo Mbeki do?
• Thabo Mbeki, who was in exile, convinced many countries to put
pressure on South Africa not to the death blow to the ANC
leader, but rather a life sentence.
June 14, 1964
• Nelson Mandela and nine other leaders are for life prison term
sentenced on Robben Island which was a major setback for the
liberation struggle and only recovered in the 1970s.
Activity 4.5: Causes of
the Soweto uprising
• Activity 4.5 Causes of the Soweto Uprising
Textbook page 184
1.According to the new apartheid laws in the 1960s, the police had the power to arrest
suspected leaders without evidence.
2.It was illegal for Mandela to leave the country because he was banned, and his passport was
confiscated.
3.The choice of Lilliesleaf as the ANC's headquarters was because it was an isolated farm in a
White area in Rivonia.
4.Operation Mayibuye was a plan to overthrow the government through an armed revolution
and guerrilla tactics.
5.Two incidents showed that there was a government spy in the ANC: Mandela was arrested in
Howick; the ANC leaders were arrested at Lilliesleaf.
6.Mbeki played a role in the Rivonia Trial by persuading overseas countries to put pressure on
South Africa not to sentence the leaders to death for treason.
7.Mandela and nine other people were sentenced to life imprisonment because they had
devised a plan, Operation Mayibuye, to overthrow the government with the help of an
 Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement as
cause for the Soweto uprising SASO
South African Student
Organisation
• SASO under the leadership of Steve Biko, a
1970 medical student, was formed.

Who was
Steve Biko • He was influenced by the BCM in America
influenced by?
• An organization that inspired young black
Who is the people to be proud of who they are and to
BCM? insist on their rights.

BCM
Black Consciousness
 He began to spread ideas from
the BCM in South Africa

What did For example:

Steve Biko • Black is beautiful
• Black people must have their own
start identity.
doing? • Black People Must Strive for Freedom
Themselves
• Black people are not inferior
• Black People Must Strive for Freedom
Themselves
• Black people are not inferior
How did the government act towards
Steve Biko?
• BCM ideas quickly spread throughout South Africa and Biko
became a threat to the government.
• He was banned, but that didn't stop him from secretly traveling
the country to address student meetings.
August 1977
• He was arrested.
• Three weeks later announced that he died due to hunger strike
• An autopsy later proved that he had been severely beaten by the
police, and that he had injuries to his spinal cord.
 School learners in Soweto
were frustrated and angry
because their parents and
Grievances of school governing bodies did
School none of the following:
children from • Curriculum was limited.
• Poor results and how the figure turns out
Soweto as a • Teachers were not qualified
cause of the • Lack of facilities (classrooms and sports
Soweto grounds)
uprising • They wanted democratic and equal
opportunities.
• Common arm hats and overcrowding in
their environment
• White pupil receives R644 per pupil per
year from government.
• Swart pupil the R42 per pupil per year
 New language policy has been introduced for
1975 black high school pupils in the southern
Transvaal.
Children in Soweto had to be taught in both
English and Afrikaans.

General science subjects are taught in

english

Mathematics, history and economics were in

Afrikaans

Religious studies and life orientation were in

native language.

Most of the teachers and children could not

understand Afrikaans and did not like it.
Which races' schools differed from the black
race schools?
• Indian
• Colored and
• Non-whites.

Note!
*Headmasters protested without
success and in some schools in Soweto
teachers refused to teach.
*In May 1976 learning activities came to
a standstill.
Activity 4.6:
Timeline of the
Soweto Uprising
• Activity 4.6 Timeline of the Soweto Uprising
Textbook page 186-187
1.The Student Action Committee organized a mass gathering on
16 June 1976.
2.The students were happy and did not expect trouble because
they were singing, rapping, and dancing.
3.The uprising could have been prevented on 11 June 1976
because concerned ministers had warned the Minister of
Education about increasing unrest. He said everything was in
order.
Outbreak of events after the Soweto
uprising

June 16, 1976

• Resistance to apartheid became more intense and the
rest of the world put great pressure on the SA
government to change.
• It would have taken another 14 years for apartheid to
end.
 Thousands of people have been arrested and
In the imprisoned.

aftermath Schools closed (learners had to repeat years)

of the Government banned 17 anti-apartheid

organizations
uprising the Protests were held throughout the country and
following protests clashed with police.
Violence broke out and vehicles, buildings and
happen: schools were set on fire.
Government changed its language policy and
Afrikaans was not enforced in schools.
• Thousands of black learners left the
country to be trained in military
camps for the MK.
The tragedy of the
• Learners and the black community Soweto uprising is
called for the abolition of the celebrated every year
apartheid laws.
with youth day
• Government spies infiltrated the ANC
and all future protest campaigns
suppressed for a few years.
Consequences of resistance and repression on
the longer term
Keys:

Strategy: a plan
Assault Attack
Sanctions: When countries refuse to
trade with other
countries for political
reasons
The international community reacted with horror and shock
to the events in South Africa and increased its resistance
As a result, the South African economy n
enter period of recession:
• Rand value decreased and caused economic instability
• The value of gold and diamond shares on the stock exchange
fell
• Countries applied economic sanctions and refused to trade
with South Africa.
• Large companies left South Africa and withdrew investments.
Note!
*The Afro-Asian bloc exerted greater pressure on the
UN to
introduce cultural and sporting boycotts against South
Africa.
*This meant that music groups and sportsmen were no
Activity 4.7:
Consequences of the
Soweto uprising
• Activity 4.7 Consequences of the Soweto Uprising
Textbook page 188

1.How did the Soweto Uprising affect the following:

a) The economy in South Africa: The Rand was devalued and caused
economic instability; the value of gold and diamond companies on
the stock exchange fell; countries imposed economic sanctions and
refused to trade with South Africa; large companies left South Africa.
b) Black education: Schools were closed, and students had to repeat
the year; thousands of Black students left the country to be trained
in military camps for MK; the government changed its language
policy, and Afrikaans was no longer enforced in schools.
c) The international community reacted with disgust and shock to the
events in South Africa and increased their resistance; countries
2. Derrick Thema was a journalist who reported for the Rand Daily
Mail: “In an emotional eyewitness report, Derrick Thema reported
in the Rand Daily Mail on 17 June 1976.”
3. “White and Black policemen” were often targets for the students
to stone because they were symbols of the government that had
enforced the strict apartheid laws.
4. There was a change in the mood of the students according to
Mkhabela: “When we heard that a boy was shot, the mood
immediately changed. My reaction was not so much fear; it was
actually anger. I now marched with determination.”