My Operasteve bantu biko
Friday, January 6, 2012 8:56:28 AM
Bantu Steven Biko was born on
18 December 1946 in Ginsberg,
a township outside King William's
Town. Thirty years later, he
was dead after being severely
beaten while in police custody.
Biko, best known of the leaders
of the Black Consciousness
Movement, is regarded as one
of the greatest martyrs of the
anti-apartheid struggle.
Biko's philosophy was that
political freedom would only be
achieved if blacks stopped
feeling inferior to whites. This
formed the heart of the Black
Consciousness Movement. He
believed that black people
should lead the fight against
apartheid.
Biko, who became more and
more outspoken, gave up
medical school to devote himself
to the struggle. Frustrated by
the multiracial Nusas, he and his
colleagues founded the South
African Student's Organisation
(SASO) in 1969. SASO was
involved in providing legal aid
and medical clinics, as well as
social upliftment programmes in
black communities.
But the black students, under
his leadership, argued that they
were black before they were
students and that a black
political movement should be
formed. Finally, in July 1972, the
Black People's Convention (BPC)
was founded. The BPC
effectively brought together
about 70 different black
consciousness groups and
associations.
His movement came into its own
in the mid-1970s when the
liberation movement appeared
to be faltering, with many ANC
leaders in jail or exile.
In 1973, he was banned by the
apartheid government. Under
the ban, Biko was restricted to
his hometown of King William's
Town and he was prevented
from writing or saying anything
about black consciousness.
On 18 August 1977, Biko was
arrested while travelling home
from a political meeting with his
friend Peter Jones. He was
detained in Port Elizabeth for
26 days under the Terrorism
Act.
According to testimony given at
the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission in 1997, "Biko
sustained a head injury during
interrogation on 7 September
1977, after which he acted
strangely and was unco-
operative. The doctors who
examined him (naked, lying on a
mat and manacled to a metal
grille) initially disregarded overt
signs of neurological injury."
By 11 September 1997, Biko
had slipped into a semi-
conscious state. The police
doctor recommended that he be
transferred to hospital. Biko
was, however, transported 1
200km to Pretoria in the back
of a Land Rover.
A few hours after arriving at
Pretoria Central Prison, Biko
died from brain damage, alone
and naked in his cell. He was 30
years old.
The police first claimed he had
starved himself to death while
on a hunger strike. They later
changed their story to say Biko
had hit his head against a wall
in a scuffle. Finally, 20 years
later, the police admitted
before the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission that
they had killed Biko.
Biko was buried in the Ginsberg
cemetery just outside King
William's Town on 25 September
1977.
18 December 1946 in Ginsberg,
a township outside King William's
Town. Thirty years later, he
was dead after being severely
beaten while in police custody.
Biko, best known of the leaders
of the Black Consciousness
Movement, is regarded as one
of the greatest martyrs of the
anti-apartheid struggle.
Biko's philosophy was that
political freedom would only be
achieved if blacks stopped
feeling inferior to whites. This
formed the heart of the Black
Consciousness Movement. He
believed that black people
should lead the fight against
apartheid.
Biko, who became more and
more outspoken, gave up
medical school to devote himself
to the struggle. Frustrated by
the multiracial Nusas, he and his
colleagues founded the South
African Student's Organisation
(SASO) in 1969. SASO was
involved in providing legal aid
and medical clinics, as well as
social upliftment programmes in
black communities.
But the black students, under
his leadership, argued that they
were black before they were
students and that a black
political movement should be
formed. Finally, in July 1972, the
Black People's Convention (BPC)
was founded. The BPC
effectively brought together
about 70 different black
consciousness groups and
associations.
His movement came into its own
in the mid-1970s when the
liberation movement appeared
to be faltering, with many ANC
leaders in jail or exile.
In 1973, he was banned by the
apartheid government. Under
the ban, Biko was restricted to
his hometown of King William's
Town and he was prevented
from writing or saying anything
about black consciousness.
On 18 August 1977, Biko was
arrested while travelling home
from a political meeting with his
friend Peter Jones. He was
detained in Port Elizabeth for
26 days under the Terrorism
Act.
According to testimony given at
the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission in 1997, "Biko
sustained a head injury during
interrogation on 7 September
1977, after which he acted
strangely and was unco-
operative. The doctors who
examined him (naked, lying on a
mat and manacled to a metal
grille) initially disregarded overt
signs of neurological injury."
By 11 September 1997, Biko
had slipped into a semi-
conscious state. The police
doctor recommended that he be
transferred to hospital. Biko
was, however, transported 1
200km to Pretoria in the back
of a Land Rover.
A few hours after arriving at
Pretoria Central Prison, Biko
died from brain damage, alone
and naked in his cell. He was 30
years old.
The police first claimed he had
starved himself to death while
on a hunger strike. They later
changed their story to say Biko
had hit his head against a wall
in a scuffle. Finally, 20 years
later, the police admitted
before the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission that
they had killed Biko.
Biko was buried in the Ginsberg
cemetery just outside King
William's Town on 25 September
1977.
