Onkgopotse Abram Tiro, a leader of the South African Students' Organisation (SASO), was killed by a parcel bomb near Gaborone, Botswana. Tiro was completing an application form to continue his studies through the University of South Africa (Unisa) when a student known only as Lawrence handed him a parcel supposedly forwarded by the international University Exchange Programme. As he was opening it, the bomb exploded, killing him instantly. A Bureau of State Security (BOSS) hit squad, also known as the Z-Squad, was allegedly responsible for sending him the parcel bomb. As a result, Black students boycott lectures and their institutions were forced to shut down. Tiro's remains were exhumed by the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) and his family and returned to Dinokana for reburial in 1998. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) failed to conduct an in-depth formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Event record
SASO leader, Abram Tiro is assassinated

Abram Tiro Source: azapo.org.za
- Updated
- 30 Sep 2019

Abram Tiro Source: azapo.org.za
How we know this
- 01Azapo,Onkgopotse Tiro -the BC Student Leader, from Azapo, [online], Available at www.azapo.org.za [Accessed: 6 February 2013]
- 02Matlala, M., Onkgopotse Tiro honoured, from The New Age, [online], Available at www.thenewage.co.za [Accessed: 6 February 2013]
Last updated · 30 Sep 2019
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). SASO leader, Abram Tiro is assassinated. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012205
South African History Online (2011) 'SASO leader, Abram Tiro is assassinated', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012205 (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
South African History Online, SASO leader, Abram Tiro is assassinated [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012205, (accessed 7 October 2026).
"SASO leader, Abram Tiro is assassinated." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012205. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "SASO leader, Abram Tiro is assassinated." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012205.
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