This year’s municipal election day evoked emotions in the people of Mdantsane, the second biggest township in South Africa, as it happened on the eve of the commemoration of the Mdantsane Massacre.
The Ciskei homeland police gunned down about 13 people and injured scores more at the local Egerton Railway Station on August 4 1983 as people, who were on a bus boycott in protest against the increase in fares, were boarding trains.
The boycott was organised under the banner of the South African Allied Workers Union (Saawu) and led by the Committee of Ten.
As part of the collective leadership of the workers, the Committee of Ten was mandated to seek an appointment with the Ciskei Bantustan Authority to engage them before Mdantsane residents embarked on the strike action, but that attempt was turned down. That made workers angry and gave the committee a fresh mandate of organising a broader mass meeting that resulted in the compilation of a list of demands such as:
Old age people earning pension and students wearing school uniform must pay half price of the bus fare;
The name written on the busses ie Ama-Ciskei Amahle, must be removed;
The interior must be refurbished with better material eg proper seats; and
Unused portion of a monthly bus fare ticket should not expire.
After many attempts were made to secure an appointment with Ciskei Authorities, a meeting eventually took place between the Committee of Ten and the authorities.
But the meeting did not yield positive results and members of the committee left the meeting before it was adjourned as they felt the authorities were negotiating in bad faith and threatening them with arrest.
The delegation was now elevated to the status of a fully-fledged Committee of Ten.
Workers then gave the committee a new mandate of organising the start of the bus boycott, and drafting a programme of action (POA) thereof. The POA entailed the following:
Mobilisation of more transport and talking to railway authorities for additional trains;
Speaking to taxi operators to reduce their tariffs/fares; and
Mobilisation of patrol people for the safety of those who would be utilising trains.
The boycott started on July 20 1983 and was supported. It became clear to the enemy that the people were committed to the cause.
On August 4 1983, the regime decided to use policemen and soldiers to shoot and force the commuters to board their busses but the people refused.
They shot and killed about 13 people and injured many.
The injured were taken to the local Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
To this day, some people still physically carry bullets in their bodies on the advice of doctors.
They were told not to remove them due to the sensitive areas these bullets were occupying in their bodies.
One of the saddest things about the event was that people had engaged in peaceful means of protest and chose to use alternative transport such as trains and taxis to go to work and school.
But the Ciskei police prevented them from using these alternative modes of transport and forced them to use buses. When people resisted, they were shot and killed.
As one of the members of the committee, I say, let all the people of South Africa in general, and the Buffalo City Metro in particular, remember that the Mdantsane bus boycott that led to the massacre, was part of a broader struggle for freedom – including the right to vote and choose who should lead and govern us.
Taking into consideration the clarion call that was made by our late Comrade OR Tambo in exile, that let us give the enemy no quarter and make the apartheid system unworkable, we challenged every move of apartheid surrogates such as the Ciskei homeland.
The people of Mdantsane have now established a special committee to mobilise relevant stakeholders to assist them in building a tourist attraction centre in memory of all local heroes and heroines who died in the struggle, including those who died during the bus boycott.
Issued by the Mdantsane Committee of Ten
Elections evoke sad massacre memories
The Ciskei homeland police gunned down about 13 people and injured scores more at the local Egerton Railway Station on August 4 1983 as people, who were on a bus boycott in protest against the increase in fares, were boarding trains.
The boycott was organised under the banner of the South African Allied Workers Union (Saawu) and led by the Committee of Ten.
As part of the collective leadership of the workers, the Committee of Ten was mandated to seek an appointment with the Ciskei Bantustan Authority to engage them before Mdantsane residents embarked on the strike action, but that attempt was turned down. That made workers angry and gave the committee a fresh mandate of organising a broader mass meeting that resulted in the compilation of a list of demands such as:
Old age people earning pension and students wearing school uniform must pay half price of the bus fare;
The name written on the busses ie Ama-Ciskei Amahle, must be removed;
The interior must be refurbished with better material eg proper seats; and
Unused portion of a monthly bus fare ticket should not expire.
After many attempts were made to secure an appointment with Ciskei Authorities, a meeting eventually took place between the Committee of Ten and the authorities.
But the meeting did not yield positive results and members of the committee left the meeting before it was adjourned as they felt the authorities were negotiating in bad faith and threatening them with arrest.
The delegation was now elevated to the status of a fully-fledged Committee of Ten.
Workers then gave the committee a new mandate of organising the start of the bus boycott, and drafting a programme of action (POA) thereof. The POA entailed the following:
Mobilisation of more transport and talking to railway authorities for additional trains;
Speaking to taxi operators to reduce their tariffs/fares; and
Mobilisation of patrol people for the safety of those who would be utilising trains.
The boycott started on July 20 1983 and was supported. It became clear to the enemy that the people were committed to the cause.
On August 4 1983, the regime decided to use policemen and soldiers to shoot and force the commuters to board their busses but the people refused.
They shot and killed about 13 people and injured many.
The injured were taken to the local Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
To this day, some people still physically carry bullets in their bodies on the advice of doctors.
They were told not to remove them due to the sensitive areas these bullets were occupying in their bodies.
One of the saddest things about the event was that people had engaged in peaceful means of protest and chose to use alternative transport such as trains and taxis to go to work and school.
But the Ciskei police prevented them from using these alternative modes of transport and forced them to use buses. When people resisted, they were shot and killed.
As one of the members of the committee, I say, let all the people of South Africa in general, and the Buffalo City Metro in particular, remember that the Mdantsane bus boycott that led to the massacre, was part of a broader struggle for freedom – including the right to vote and choose who should lead and govern us.
Taking into consideration the clarion call that was made by our late Comrade OR Tambo in exile, that let us give the enemy no quarter and make the apartheid system unworkable, we challenged every move of apartheid surrogates such as the Ciskei homeland.
The people of Mdantsane have now established a special committee to mobilise relevant stakeholders to assist them in building a tourist attraction centre in memory of all local heroes and heroines who died in the struggle, including those who died during the bus boycott.
Issued by the Mdantsane Committee of Ten
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