On this day in history 2 October

Tuesday, 2 October 1934

The ‘poor White problem’ or the ‘Armblankevraagstuk’ as it was referred to in Afrikaans, was a significant political issue in South Africa in the late 19th century and first part of the 20th century. The issue of ‘poor Whites’ was first discussed at a synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1886. Over the following fifty or so years conferences were held in Stellenbosch (1893), Cradock (1916), Bloemfontein (1923), Pretoria (1930), and another in Bloemfontein (1933). However, the first national congress dedicated to solving the ‘poor White problem’ met on 2 October 1934 in Bloemfontein. The congress was organised by the Dutch Reformed Church and was the first congress specifically dedicated to solving this issue.

Research into this issue was also funded by the Carnegie Commission, who investigated the causes for the ‘poor White problem’, and published a report in 1932 called The Poor White Problem in South Africa: Report of the Carnegie Commission, which made recommendations about segregation and institutionalised support for ‘poor Whites’.

Saturday, 2 October 1971

The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was formally revived in 1971 after a long period of inactivity due to the harassment of its leaders by the Apartheid government. It was formed in 1894 by Mahatma Gandhi with the objective of fighting discrimination against Indian traders in Natal. It was also the first of the Indian Congresses to be formed.

The NIC led to the formation of other anti-apartheid movements like the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC), the Cape Indian Congress (CIC) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). After the banning of the African National Congress (ANC), both the NIC and the TIC were disbanded and their leaders became active in ANC underground formations.

The move to re-launch the NIC was led by Mewa Ramgobin, husband of Ela Gandhi (granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi). Ramgobin had a long history of activism, from his leadership of the Univeristy of Natal’s SRC to his banning in 1965 by the Apartheid government. One of the motions he promoted was the appointment of Chief Albert Luthuli as honorary president of NUSAS (the Natal Union of African Students).

One of the issues suggested as a catalyst for the NIC revival was a press statement which highlighted the possible declaration of the Grey Street area as an Indian commercial group area for business and light industry, potentially leaving many Indian market tenants in the area vulnerable. The reinstatement of the NIC was partly aimed at preventing the state from co-opting the Indian middle class through such methods as the suggested Grey Street rezoning.

Though there were protests against the reinstatement of the NIC by those who felt that the movement was too racialised, the organisation was re-launched with much support.

Tuesday, 2 October 1990

On 2 October 1990 Nic Cruse, an employee at PC Plus, opened a parcel containing a bomb in a computer. The subsequent explosion killed Cruse, aged 23. Cruse had worked for PC Plus, a small computer hardware and service company, for a little over a month, and opened the package which he believed contained a computer in need of repair. The company’s premises were located at 37 Crart Avenue, Durban, and the organisation had previously clashed with right-wing groups who objected to their trade with ‘liberal organisations’ such as the ANC, the Black Sash, and Women for Peaceful Change. PC Plus is said to have been started by people within the Mass Democratic Movement. The killing was a political assassination.

Wednesday, 2 October 1991

South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Roelof Frederick Botha (Pik), visited Beijing to strengthen the country’s relations with China in the wake of major political changes taking place in South Africa. A ban on South African travel to China had been recently lifted by the Chinese government in the year of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. The visit was also arranged, in part, to ensure investor confidence in South Africa and to brief the Chinese government on the pace at which South Africa’s multiparty negotiations were moving. However, in an unprecedented move, the Chinese refused to sanction Botha’s visit as official as it felt that little was being done to pave the way forward for a democratic South Africa.

Monday, 2 October 1995

At its inaugural meeting on 2 October 1995, the Human Rights Commission (HRC), a statutory body provided for under the Interim Constitution, elected Nyameko Barney Pityana as its chairman. He maintained that the Commission would ensure that the rights of all citizens were protected, ensuring that South Africa complied with the Universal Declaration of Human rights. Pityana further emphasised that the Commission would also monitor legislation in Provincial Legislatures. Seven days later, the Commission issued its first report, relating to violence that had occurred in September. It concluded that eighty-four deaths during the month of September could be attributed to political violence, of which forty-seven were in the troubled KwaZulu-Natal province.

Monday, 2 October 1995

Muziwendoda Mdluli, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) security chief, was found dead in his car parked near the Botanical Gardens in Pretoria, with a bullet wound to the head. Mdluli is rumoured to have told his lover, Zintle Galada, that he was going to have a meeting with police on the day of his death. Although police initially concluded that his death was suicide, it subsequently emerged that many within the NIA believed that he had been murdered. Dr SH Rossouw’s findings that it was difficult for a right-handed person to shoot him-/ herself in the forehead also strengthened this belief.

Even the Pan Africanist Congress, of whose armed wing Mr Mdluli was the commander before joining the NIA, as well as Mdluli’s own family, alleged that he was murdered. Later, one of NIA directors was overheard saying that they believed that Mdluli was killed after making a discovery in an investigation into a possible agency role in the recently failed coup in the Comoros, led by Bob Denard.

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