Johannesburg - ActionSA Gauteng chairperson Funzi Ngobeni visited Alexandra Township to commemorate the massacre of young people on June 18, 1976.
This slaughter of young people in Alexandra is not talked about as much as Soweto's June 16, 1976, uprising.
This is where, two days after the Soweto uprising, which killed at least 23 young people, a more deadly massacre happened, just some 40 kilometres away, where at least 36 young people and other members of the community were mowed down by a brute apartheid police force.
During his visit to the township, Ngobeni said the youth of Alexandra also deserve recognition and acknowledgement.
He said the party believes the Alexandra Massacre of June 18, 1976, deserves recognition for the contribution it made in helping to bring an end to Apartheid in South Africa and helping to usher in a democratic dispensation.
Ngobeni and other party leaders joined the family of Japie Vilankulu, one of the first people killed in the massacre, to commemorate the massacre in Alexandra on Sunday.
‘’I shared how the Alexandra Massacre was an important point in the country-wide expansion of the social unrest against poor quality education during Apartheid.’’
‘’But, taking place two days after the Soweto Uprising, the Alexandra Massacre is often forgotten for the very important role it played,’’ he said.
‘’ActionSA has long worked to give the Alexandra Massacre the recognition it deserves, with our president, Herman Mashaba, donating half a million rand to an education fund established in Japie Vilankulu’s name’’.
He said more needs to be done to ensure the painful history, where more than 34 people died during the Massacre when Apartheid police opened fire on students who marched against poor quality education, is not forgotten.
‘’As a party that stands for social justice, ActionSA will continue working with the Vilankulu family to ensure that the fund Mashaba helped establish is properly functional to serve the needs of the community and that the legacy of Japie Vilankulu receives the recognition it deserves,’’ Ngobeni said.
Following the Soweto uprising, more and more townships joined in on the protests aimed at resisting the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.
Violent protests soon spread to the East Rand as well as other parts of the country, including KZN and the Eastern Cape.
The Star