WeeklySA_AdminDISSENT: Following the June 1976 upheavals, 18 Pan Africanist Congress of Azania were charged with treason and received sentences varying from seven to 30 years. In this article, the writer remembers their heroic contribution to the liberation struggle…
By Xolile George Tyamzashe
As South Africa reflects on the 48th anniversary of the June 16 1976 Soweto Students Uprisings, it is imperative to shine the light on a lesser-known – yet significant – event that epitomises the ruthless tactics employed by the apartheid regime to stifle dissent and suppress the voices of those advocating for freedom.
The Bethal Trial 18 stands as a chilling reminder of the lengths to which the government of the time would go to silence opposition.
The Bethal Trial, which began in December 1977 and continued with over 100 court sessions, resumed on March 7 1978 in Bethal, in what was then called Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga). It was held in secret, behind closed doors, with no media access, against Zephaniah Mothopeng and 17 of his co-accused, all members of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC). The government’s decision to conduct the trial in camera was a deliberate attempt to prevent the public from learning about the objectives of the struggle led by the PAC.
The Bethal 18 Trial had a significant impact on the struggle in South Africa, having been aimed at intimidating and instil fear in those who opposed the apartheid regime and sought to weaken the resistance and undermine the efforts to bring about change in South Africa, exemplifying the government’s tactic of criminalising political activism and dissent. The political leaders involved in the trial were portrayed as threats to national security and accused of attempting to overthrow the apartheid regime. This strategy was used to justify the harsh treatment, imprisonment, and persecution of political leaders.
Lest we forget the deaths in detention of four individuals while awaiting prosecution, namely Naboth Ntshuntsha, Samuel Malinga, Aaron Khoza, and Sipho Bonaventura Malaza, who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances.
These tragic events served as a stark reminder of the risks and dangers faced by those who stood up against the apartheid regime. The intimidation tactics used during the trial were to instil fear in the hearts of the trialists who were arrested and charged with various crimes, including sabotage and treason. They were a symbol of the apartheid regime’s repression and sparked international condemnation.
One of the survivors of the brutal treatment during the trial was the late Vusumzi Johnson Nyathi who was Accused No 14, who miraculously survived death after being thrown from a four storey security police building in Krugersdorp during an interrogation session.
Despite suffering spinal injuries, Nyathi was later charged and found guilty of attempting to escape from custody, highlighting the harsh realities faced by those who dared to challenge the apartheid regime.
Despite the oppressive tactics employed during the Bethal Trial, the struggle in South Africa (colonial name of Azania) continued and the trial served to galvanise resistance and strengthen the resolve of those fighting for freedom; underscored the lengths to which the apartheid government would go to maintain its grip on power and control dissent, yet it also showcased the bravery and sacrifice of those who refused to be silenced in the pursuit of freedom and the return of our land.
According to the late former President of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Dr Motsoko Pheko: “The Soweto Uprising of June 16 1976 did not just drop from the sky. The Black students of South Africa did not wake up one day and begin resisting Bantu Education. The uprising was carefully organised and led secretly by leaders of the underground political movement, most of them militants of the banned Pan Africanist Congress of Azania”.
It is essential to resist any attempts to distort the history of our struggle for freedom in Azania, June 16 was not just a spontaneous reaction but a planned mass action by students mentored and guided by leaders of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania.
This particular trial was part of a broader effort by the apartheid government to distort the history of our struggle against the apartheid regime. By holding the trial in secret and manipulating the narrative, the government aimed to portray activists as criminals and terrorists rather than as freedom fighters.
Brief profiles of the Bethal trialists were:
1. Zephania Mothopeng (65) – A founder member of the Pan Africanist Congress and chairman of the inaugural conference of the organisation sentenced to 30 years ordered to run concurrently.
2. John Ganya (48) – A mineworker and senior cadre of the PAC underground who was involved in the clandestine activities of the organisation and played a crucial role in organising resistance against the apartheid regime. He was convicted of organising ninety young people to undergo military training in the PAC camps in countries such as Tanzania, China, Yugoslavia and Libya. He was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment.
3. Mark Shinners (37) – A PAC leader and strategist based in Pretoria. He contributed to the strategic planning of the PAC’s activities and was sentenced to 12 years.
4. Bennie Ntoele (38) – A PAC leader and underground operative in Mamelodi who operated underground in Mamelodi, organising and mobilising communities against apartheid regime and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
5. Hamilton Keke (42) – A PAC leader in the Border area of the Eastern Cape who was involved in leading the PAC’s activities in the Eastern Cape region, where resistance against apartheid was strong he was acquitted and immediately left for exile.
6. Sithembele Khala (24) – An Orlando West High school delegate at the Soweto Student Representative Council (SSRC) and an operative of the PAC underground unit. He was actively involved in the student uprisings and the PAC’s underground activities, he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
7. Alfred Ntshalintshali (47) – A Swaziland national and taxi driver. Ntshalintshali, despite not being a South African citizen, was involved in the anti-apartheid struggle and was arrested alongside the others but, like Hamilton Keke, was also acquitted.
8. Julius Landingwe (30) – A Black Consciousness leader and organiser of the National African Youth Organisation. He was a key figure in the Black Consciousness movement and mobilized youth against apartheid and was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.
9. Zolile Ghost Ndindwa (26) – A Cape Town-based Black Consciousness leader who played a significant role in mobilising the youth in Cape Town against the apartheid regime, and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
10. Moffat Zungu (28) – Chief photographer at the World newspaper, who used his position as a photographer to document the resistance movement and expose the injustices of apartheid was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
11. Mhlophe Goodwill Moni (24) – A student leader in the Western Cape and PAC operative, who was actively involved in organizing student resistance in the Western Cape and working underground for the PAC, and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
12. Jerome Kodisang (26) – An APLA guerrilla trained in Uganda, Sudan, Egypt, and Libya. He received military training abroad and was involved in armed resistance against the apartheid regime was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
13. Sello Mike Matsobane (36) – PAC leader and founder of the Young African Religious Movement sentenced to 15 years.
14. Johnson Nyathi (32) – long-standing PAC operative and Kagiso community leader, who was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment plus one for attempted escape after being pushed from the 4th floor during interrogation.
15. Themba Hlatswayo (21) – chairperson of the SRC in Kagiso and PAC underground operative sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.
16. Molatlhegi Tlhale (22) – student representative council leader in Kagiso, who was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.
17. Rodney Tsholetsane (20) – student leader in Kagiso sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
18. Daniel Bizzah Matsobane (31) – SASO member and adult literacy head at Wilgespruit Fellowship Centre sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
Following their sentencing Accused No 1, the second president of the PAC had this to say: “We approach prison with full certainty that freedom is at hand. In this, we are supported by the knowledge that thousands and thousands of the black people in the country are working hard and are willing to sacrifice everything to achieve it. We will soon be walking out of bondage into free Azania…”
As we commemorate the June 16, 1976 Soweto Student Uprisings, let us not forget the sacrifices made by those who fought for freedom in the face of adversity. If we dare forget the struggles of the past, we risk repeating the injustices of history. Let us honour the memory of those PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE WHO DARED TO OPPOSE APARTHEID, who stood up against tyranny and injustice, remember June 16…
• Xola Tyamzashe a former child soldier and member of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and author of the upcoming poetry collection titled, ‘Products of the Azanian Chimerenga’ and autobiography titled ‘The Metamorphosis of a Lone Revolutionary’: Memoirs of a Child Soldier
