The Lowveld massacre was an incident that occurred on 11 March 1986 at Kabokweni, in the then KaNgwane bantustan (now part of Mpumalanga province) of South Africa, when security forces opened fire on thousands of young people who had gathered outside the magistrate's court to protest during the trial of their fellow students.[1]

Preceding events edit

The massacre started with the killing of a student during a protest. During the funeral of the student, the army and the police shot at the mourners and arrested 26 students without provocation. At the trial of the 26 students there were further shootings of the students. Many were injured and some were killed.[2][3][4]

Media and popular culture edit

South African actor and playwright Mcedisi Shabangu has written a play based on this massacre.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ "An extra ordinary human disaster that lasted too long". ANC Today. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018.
  2. ^ "TRC Final Report, Volume 3, Chapter 6, Subsection 67". SABC. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Memorial lecture on the 26th Anniversary of the Lowveld Massacre". South African History Online. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  4. ^ "The lion of the lowveld". Learn and Teach Magazine. 22 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Home is where the heart is". Sowetan. 21 February 2014.