GALESHEWE FIVE TERRORISM TRIAL – 1979

Today marks the beginning, 46 years ago, of the events that led to the infamous Galeshewe Five Terrorism Trial.

The formation of the Congress of South African Students in 1979 led to massive school boycotts the following year. COSAS was formed as a national organisation to represent the interests of black school students in the wake of the Soweto uprising. 

During that time, the South African Student Movement (SASM) and other organisations of the Black Conscious Movement, influential here, were banned. 

Schools in Galeshewe embarked on a boycott that would affect learning for the whole year. It started when students from Tshireleco High School embarked on a peaceful boycott at their school. Days later more than 2 000 pupils led a peaceful march and a decision was taken to boycott any teaching at schools in Galeshewe. The students demanded among other things, democratically elected Student Representatives, the scrapping of Bantu Education, an end to overcrowding in classrooms, more school books, and that tests should be marked by teachers and not the students themselves. Meetings between students, education authorities, religious leaders and parents were organised to discuss these issues. Police started to arrest some of the students.

The then Minister of Education Dr F. Hartzenberg was to hold a meeting with the Galeshewe School Committee and the Kimberley Community Council at the Galeshewe Community Council Chambers. When it became clear that student leaders wouldn’t be allowed into that meeting, students took a decision to go and dump their books at the venue of the proposed meeting. A large crowd of students marched peacefully towards the Administration Offices but were denied entry and subsequently dumped their books at the Abantu Batho Hall which was opposite to the venue. Police started chasing, shooting, shamboking, beating and arresting the protestors.

Text courtesy of McGregor Museum