June 16, 1976 Soweto Uprising: The Pains, Gains And Failure Of African Leadership

 By Omawumi Evelyn Urhobo

As South Africa commemorates this year’s June 16th, the 47th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, and as a Nigerian who was directly involved in the struggle, I can’t help but put down my few thoughts about this momentous event.

On June 16, 1976, the student protest in the township of Soweto against the apartheid regime started. This agitation would soon become known globally as the Soweto Uprising. This uprising by the students protesting the injustice of the Apartheid Regime was, of course, more than ever before, met with the usual bestial and brutal resistance by the Apartheid Regime.

Many young lives were lost, and many trooped into exile to escape the brutal onslaught of that regime in South Africa. The uprising threw up so many students, who became heroes of the uprising. Some of them are Teboho Tsietsi MacDonald Mashinini, Knotso Seatholo, and an uncelebrated hero of the struggle, Nbuyisa Makhubu, who appeared in a photograph carrying the recently shot Hector Peterson, with Peterson’s elder sister, Antoinette Sithole, running beside them. That photo became the symbol of the struggle worldwide. Makhubu, who later found refuge in Nigeria to continue his studies at the Federal Government College, Warri, suddenly disappeared and was never found till today.

Because I recently published my autobiography, I Spoke at the American Congress: The Little Girl from Okere-Warri, I can now more easily recall this uprising in South Africa that drove hundreds of their students into exile. Some of these students were brought to Nigeria in 1977 to continue with their studies. I devoted two chapters in the book to tell the story of how I became involved in this struggle over 47 years ago.

We must all still remember the most brutal Apartheid Regime by the white minority over the majority black South African population in that country that saw the celebrated Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki and other great South African men fighting against the repressive regime being sentenced to life imprisonment for their anti-apartheid struggles.

On June 16th, 1976, the youths of that country rose up to protest against the repressive apartheid regime, and the regime responded brutally to suppress the uprising. Hundreds of students were killed, and others ran into exile in the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania where they took refuge. With the South African Apartheid regime making cross border strikes to these neighbouring countries to dislodge these students, it became expedient to move the students to safer grounds.

During this period, the Nigerian Head-of-State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, who showed great commitment and support for the anti-apartheid struggle of the ANC (then under the leadership of Comrade Oliver Tambo, and PAC leader, Comrade John Nyathi Phokela) allowed them to open their liberation movements offices in Nigeria with their representative holding diplomatic status. I remember that during this period, Haija Mohammed was the Nigerian High Commissioner to Botswana, and played a vital role in ensuring that these students were taken away to safer grounds.

There were principal officers in the cabinet office then, such as Babagana Kingibe, Olu Otunla, Niyi Adedeji etc, who played significant roles in this regard. During this period, Comrade Thabo Mbeki was the ANC Chief Rep in Nigeria, and his wife, Zanele Mbeki, worked for the International University Exchange Fund (IUEF). There was the urgent need to evacuate to safer places these refugee students from Botswana as they were still under great threat from the Apartheid Regime.

Obasanjo then graciously agreed to allow over 500 of these students to be evacuated to Nigeria in 1977 to continue with their studies. I, Evelyn Omawumi Urhobo, was recruited by the IUEF represented by Zanele Mbeki, the organization that was responsible for the sponsorship of the students to Nigeria then, as the Student Counselor to take care of the students while they stayed in Nigeria. This responsibility for the sponsorship of the students was taken over in 1983 by the Southern Africa Relief Fund (SARF) under the Presidency with me as the Executive Secretary of the Fund.

Reminiscing on the great sacrifices these students made with the Soweto Uprising of June 16, 1976 that saw young students who were protesting injustice in their country killed and maimed in their hundreds and thousands, and others taken to exile and separated from their parents and loved ones, some never to be seen again, I wonder what has changed after 47 years. Yes, South Africa became independent, and Mandela and other colleagues were released from prison after spending over 25 years in jail. 

Yes, Nelson Mandela became South Africa President. Yes, Comrade Thabo Mbeki eventually became President of South Africa after Nelson Mandela. Other Black South Africans like Jacob Zuma, and now Cyril Ramaphosa have become Presidents of South Africa. At the beginning of the independence in South Africa, the expectations where high, and efforts were made to assuage the expectations coming from a brutal struggle, but things started going wrong.

The question that now troubles my mind is whether the pains and sacrifices of the Student Uprising that took place over 47 years ago have been worth it after all. What is the state of the economy in South Africa today? What did the students who gave their lives for the freedom that the South African people are supposed to be enjoying today get?

It is no secret that the economy of South Africa is in shambles, and the poverty level there stands dangerously above the 50% benchmark. Was this the essence of the struggle, after all? I visited South Africa shortly after independence, and things were looking up. When I visited in 2018 and then 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality of the situation in South Africa was heart-breaking. 

I saw how all the gains of the anti-apartheid struggle had been lost due to ineptitude and bad leadership in governance in that country. Have the leaders been fair to the sacrifices made by the young students who participated in the uprising, and all the others who fought within and outside South Africa while the anti Apartheid Struggle raged? The question then is: why do our leaders consistently fail us? What is happening in South Africa today?

As we commemorate another anniversary of the June 16 Soweto Uprising, 47 years on, can our African leaders commit to delivering good governance? Can they let the sacrifices of their children, and their blood that was shed not to be in vein?

I cannot but reminisce, too, in writing this, of the struggle of June 12, 1993 in Nigeria, when what was considered as the freest election ever organized in Nigeria was annulled by the military junta. I cannot but remember the massive outpour of protests that followed the cancellation, how they were met with brutal force, and how so many Nigerians, especially youths, were killed.

There was also the most recent ENDSARS Protest, where, again, so many youths were killed, protesting and demanding for good governance. When are we ever going to get a good African leadership that will harness the continent’s God-given human and natural resources and make life for the ordinary people of the continent enjoyable? May God let us live to see a change of heart in our African leaders.

I salute the veterans of the Soweto Uprising of June 16th, 1976. God bless you all.

*Dr Omawumi Evelyn Urhobo is the Founder/President, Morgan Smart Development Foundation, Warri. Delta State, Nigeria.