Youth of 76 remember Bafana Radebe

The youth of 1976 in Duduza celebrated the life of Bafana Radebe, the first learner in the area to be killed on June 21, 1976, following the Soweto June 16, 1976, uprisings.

On Saturday morning the group unveiled a tombstone in Bafana’s memory.

The learners’ uprising was motivated by a noticed sent to township schools by the Department of Education stating that Afrikaans was to be used as a medium of instruction for mathematics, social studies and arithmetic.

In 1976, the learners in Soweto took to the streets in protest against the department’s decision.

Also read: Brakpan Museum NPC invites Kwatsaduza to educational tour

The student uprising started in Soweto on June 16 and soon spread to other townships across the country, including Duduza on June 21.

The chairperson of The Class of 76, Popla Khoza, says the uprising in Duduza was never planned and was sparked by the placards hung on Sibonelo Secondary School’s security fence.

“We were writing exams at the time but on June 21 when we arrived at the school we were welcomed by placards condemning the killings of learners in Soweto.

“We decided to abandon learning immediately after school assembly, and marched to all the schools in the area and disrupted learning.

“We marched towards the council offices in the area and on our way we damaged everything that belonged to the government, including two buses.”

“The security police arrived and opened fire on us, killing Bafana and injuring Sipho Ngcongo who was rushed to hospital and later detained in prison,” explains Khoza.

Also read: Tombstone to be unveiled for the first fatality of the Duduza Riots

The Class of 76 decided to erect a memorial tombstone in memory of Bafana since they feel his participation in the education struggle is not recognised.

“We are concerned that many struggle heroes are celebrated annually and have public facilities named after them, but not Bafana Radebe.

“Even our own history of the day is unknown to our children. They only know that of Hector Peterson who was killed in Soweto, yet we have our very own Bafana’s memory to celebrate.

“We asked for donations from local businesses and the youth of 1976 which made it possible for us to erect the tombstone.

“We are in the process of renaming Sibonelo Secondary School in his honour,and plan to erect a memorial tombstone at the Duduza Reconciliation Park,” he says.