Sharpeville massacre survivors start legal fight for justice in South Africa

ByPumza Fihlani

Reporting fromSharpeville

Abraham Mofokeng inactive carries the wounds of the bloody suppression of a protestation successful South Africa 66 years ago. In what became known arsenic the Sharpeville massacre, constabulary infamously opened occurrence connected thousands of peaceful demonstrators.

A slug is inactive lodged successful Mofokeng's spine, and helium has a gentle limp from a gunshot to the leg.

"We weren't seen arsenic people," the 86-year-old tells the BBC arsenic helium explains the reasons helium joined the objection connected 21 March 1960 against the repressive laws of the white-minority government.

"All you were bully for was working. You couldn't question them, you were expected to conscionable bash arsenic you're told."

The massacre astatine Sharpeville, which helium survived, exposed to the satellite the unit of the racist apartheid strategy - yet acknowledgment to an indemnity instrumentality passed a twelvemonth aft the killings, nary of the perpetrators were ever prosecuted.

Mofokeng is present portion of a ineligible lawsuit acceptable to beryllium announced connected Thursday that volition question to overturn this law.

At slightest 69 protesters were changeable dormant by constabulary connected that time successful 1960, becoming a pivotal lawsuit successful the past of the anti-apartheid movement.

Though Sharpeville whitethorn beryllium a spot sanction affluent successful humanities resonance, it scarcely looks similar a tract that symbolises the struggle: the township is dilatory crumbling.

The erstwhile tarred roads of this country southbound of Johannesburg are returning to dirt. Many of the houses are inactive the small, brown-faced ceramic homes built nether the apartheid-era government. The world is adust and barren - heaps of rubbish are piling up passim the neighbourhood.

While the legalised strategy of racism was buried successful 1994 erstwhile the state held its archetypal antiauthoritarian predetermination and elected Nelson Mandela arsenic president, its scars remain.

There person been attempts astatine redress - not slightest done the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) - acceptable up by Mandela's authorities to analyse crimes committed during the apartheid era.

But the Sharpeville survivors consciousness they person not seen justice.

Sharpeville's section memorial park, the Human Rights Precinct, tells the communicative of however the streets of township became the country of a bloodbath.

Inside the parkland basal 69 achromatic pillars, 1 for each beingness lost.

The victims were killed portion demonstrating against the racist walk laws.

At the time, achromatic radical were forced to transportation a papers known arsenic a passbook, known arsenic "dompas" successful Afrikaans, which restricted their state to determination astir the country.

A idiosyncratic could beryllium beaten and jailed if recovered without it - oregon if recovered successful a "whites-only" country without permission.

Many heeded the telephone from the leaders of the Pan Africanist Congress successful March 1960 to march successful protestation against the dompas, including then-20-year-old Mofokeng.

"The beingness we were surviving nether apartheid was a beingness of oppression. We could not determination astir freely. We ended up readying to march to the constabulary presumption against these passbooks that were being utilized to oppress us," helium says.

Thousands turned up to what they thought would beryllium a peaceful protest.

"[The police] had rifles, machetes, adjacent shields. We explained to the constabulary that we didn't privation the passes anymore and we were prepared to spell to prison. There was a commotion, past each hellhole broke escaped erstwhile the constabulary started shooting."

Mofokeng was among the much than 200 radical injured and caller estimates by South African researchers person revised upwards the fig who died to arsenic galore arsenic 91.

Another survivor, Larazus Magotsi - present 90 - walks on the agelong enactment of graves successful the cemetery wherever astir of those who died are buried. Among them is simply a headstone marking wherever a 12-year-old was laid to rest.

Magotsi's eyes are filled with tears arsenic helium struggles to constitute himself.

"We heard gunshots and ran and hid wrong a store, peeping to spot what was happening outside," helium says.

"People were lying connected the ground. When we looked retired again, we saw that immoderate were trying to get up, but the constabulary were conscionable shooting astatine them.

"Others were utilizing machetes to onslaught the heads of radical who were inactive moving."

It is thought that much than 1,300 bullets were changeable into the crowd. Archive photos amusement policemen walking among the corpses, lying wherever they fell, successful the contiguous aftermath of the massacre.

The lone ineligible lawsuit that followed the killings was a failed effort to complaint the protesters with affray.

Now, survivors and relatives of those who were killed are hoping to overturn the instrumentality they accidental prevents them from getting justice.

The 1961 Indemnity Act was passed by the apartheid authorities successful the aftermath of the massacre and protected the constabulary and authorities from having transgression charges oregon adjacent civilian claims brought against them successful narration to what happened astatine Sharpeville.

Despite much than 30 years of antiauthoritarian rule, that instrumentality remains connected the statute books.

But present South African non-governmental organisation Lawyers for Human Rights, unneurotic with UK-based instrumentality steadfast Leigh Day, has filed a lawsuit astatine the High Court arguing that the instrumentality is unconstitutional nether the caller constitution that came into effect successful 1994.

"Apart from the idiosyncratic damages, what the community's looking for is fundamentally reparations to alteration their healing. They consciousness arsenic though Sharpeville is simply a forgotten community," says Charne Tracey, 1 of the lawyers connected the case.

Part of their tribunal exertion includes getting a people enactment certified - if approved this would mean that for the archetypal clip dozens of victims and relatives of those killed could collectively writer the state. It could besides perchance pb to transgression charges being brought against the alleged perpetrators, if immoderate are inactive alive.

"Nothing has been done that assists with their healing and betterment of their prime of life, oregon remedy the semipermanent effects of what they've suffered," Tracey says, adding that 70 radical could beryllium progressive successful the people action.

Constitutional instrumentality adept Prof Frans Viljoen believes having the aged instrumentality repealed is important due to the fact that it would assistance to "clean up" the authorities and "close a section connected the past".

"Although South Africa has a precise transformative constitution… The rule of continuity of statehood inactive applies, which is wherefore the lawsuit tin beryllium brought against the existent state," says Viljoen.

"So if determination were laws successful our statute publication successful 1994, the constitution explicitly says they stay successful unit until parliament repeals them, abolishes them oregon changes them," helium adds.

But helium backs attempts to state the Indemnity Act unconstitutional "to cleanse america of that past".

The TRC, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was mostly praised for bringing unneurotic victims and perpetrators who were granted amnesty arsenic agelong arsenic they, among different conditions, afloat disclosed what they had done.

But the top disapproval of the process was that it did not bring astir justness for immoderate arsenic radical were not jailed for their acts and nary constabulary officers applied for amnesty for the Sharpeville shootings.

The authorities told the BBC it had supported apartheid victims implicit the years, and would proceed to bash so, but did not reason survivors and families pursuing ineligible remedies.

When it comes to reparations the justness section said 560 TRC-recognised victims of apartheid-era unit had received idiosyncratic grants amounting to immoderate $31m (£23m) and though not each Sharpeville survivors and relatives had been identified it encouraged them to travel forward.

For galore successful the assemblage of Sharpeville, determination is anticipation that restitution volition assistance heal decades of lingering trauma.

"Apartheid is dormant and buried. A triumph would bring implicit healing, not conscionable for us, but for aboriginal generations arsenic well," says Mofokeng.

"Considering however radical died, galore person not wholly healed."