Ramaphosa and Motlatsi are arrested

First general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Cyril Ramaphosa, and its president, James Motlatsi, were arrested in Newcastle, Natal. The two men and fifty-nine other union members were arrested when they staged an 'illegal' march through the city centre during a strike, which turned out to be the longest and costliest strike in the history of the mining industry. The strike was also costly for the NUM as the mining companies fired over 40,000 workers in breaking the strike. Click here to read more about the South African labour history. Sources: Pretoria News, August 26, 2002. Today in History. http://www.answers.com/topic/cyril-ramaphosa