| 1903 |
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William Edward Durghardt Du Bois publishes The Souls of Black Folk rejecting the notion that Black people need western values be accepted as citizens. Du Bois calls for Black Consciousness among all Africans throughout the world. |
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| 1919 |
19 February |
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The first Pan African Congress is held in Paris, France and is headed by William Edward Durghardt Du Bois. A firm supporter of the ‘Back to Africa' movement in the United States of America, Marcus Garvey founds the African Communities League and the ‘Black Star Line' (part of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)), with the intention of ‘bringing home' the African Americans. |
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| 1944 |
2 April |
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| 1945 |
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The fifth Pan-African Congress is held in Manchester, England, shortly after World War II. This a critical event in exposing African scholars to ideas and strategies on seeking independence for African colonies using Black Consciousness ideology. The theme of the congress covers an end to colonial rule and political independence. |
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| 1946 |
18 December |
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The birth of Bantu Stephen (Steve) Biko.
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| 1952 |
October |
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The Mau Mau Rebellion starts in Kenya. Jomo Kenyatta is arrested by the British colonisers on the suspicion of being the main architect of the rebellion. His Africanist approach is influential on the development of Black Consciousness in South African Black activists. |
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| 1955 |
26 June |
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| 1957 |
6 March |
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The struggle of Black Consciousness bears fruit with the independence of Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. |
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| 1958 |
December |
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The Sixth Pan African Congress, held in Africa for the first time, takes place in Accra, Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) under the chairmanship of Kwame Nkrumah. |
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| 1959 |
6 April |
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Robert Sobukwe and others break away from the African National Congress (ANC) to form the Pan African Congress (PAC). They argue that the Congress Alliance reasserts and emphasises ‘White-imposed racial division' by organising itself along racial and ethnic lines. Sobukwe believes that the Congress Alliance is shifting from the ideology of Black Consciousness. |
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| 1960 |
21 March |
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Sharpeville Massacre: In the wake of Sharpeville, African students loyal to the African National Congress (ANC) establish the African Students' Association (ASA), Pan African Congress (PAC) sympathizing students form the African Students' Union of South Africa (ASUSA), and those loyal to the Non-European Unity Movement (NEUM) form other organisations in the Cape and Natal. However none of these organisations survive long, since identification with banned movements is hazardous, and university authorities are hostile to student political groups. Non-cooperation between peers in different student political groupings makes matters worse. |
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| 1960 |
8 April |
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The African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) are banned in South Africa. |
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| 1963 - 1964 |
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African students begin focussing their attention on the multi-racial National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) an outspoken anti-government organisation with a membership drawn heavily from White English-speaking universities, for want of a better vehicle to express their political aspirations. |
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| 1963 |
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Steve Biko is introduced to politics as a teenager, when one of his older brothers, Khaya, a student at Lovedale High School, is arrested as a suspected Poqo member and jailed for three months.
The South African Police interrogate Steve Biko in connection with his brother's Pan Africanist activities, and Steve Biko is subsequently expelled from Lovedale.
Steve Biko develops a strong antipathy toward White authority, and carries this attitude with him when he enters St Francis College at Marianhill in Natal, a liberal Catholic boarding school and one of the few remaining private high schools for Africans in South Africa.
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| 1964 |
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In the face of strong opposition by rank-and-file members (mostly White) to some of its more "radical" policies, the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) shifts rightwards, confining itself to symbolic multiracial activities and protests after-the-fact against government infringements on academic freedom. This marks the beginning a phase of deep frustration for the small Black membership, as virtually all channels for the expression of anti-apartheid sentiment are closed. The students allow themselves to be co-opted into the new non-risk style of NUSAS politics, since they are unable to adequately articulate their opposition to injustice. |
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| 1966 |
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From Marianhill Steve Biko enters the Natal University's ‘non-White' medical school, familiarly known as Wentworth. A vastly talented political analyst, he is soon elected to the Students' Representative (SRC) and through the SRC he is drawn into National Union of South African students (NUSAS) activities. |
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| 1966 |
July |
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Steve Biko attends the annual National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) Congress as an observer.
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| 1967 |
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The formation of the University Christian Movement (UCM). |
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| 1967 |
July |
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Steve Biko participates in the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) Congress as a Wentworth Delegate. The congress sees bitter reactions from Black students when Rhodes University, the host institution, prohibits mixed accommodation or eating facilities at the conference site. A group of Black students (led by Steve Biko) begin to seriously analyse their political predicament in National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)
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| 1968 |
July |
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At the Annual NUSAS (National Union of South African Students) Congress, Steve Biko and some of his fellow medical students begin to draw black students into a candid discussion on their second-class role within the union.
Later, Biko begins to actively promote the idea of an all-black university movement at a University Christian Movement (UCM) meeting in Stutterheim. |
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| 1968 |
December |
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During the Christmas recess, a meeting takes place at Marianhill, and is attended by about thirty members of Black University Students' Representative Councils. From analysing the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) experience from this group, Steve Biko finds an encouraging receptiveness to his idea of an all-Black organisation. The name South African Students' Organisation (SASO) is chosen and plans are laid for a formal inaugural conference.
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| 1969 |
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Barney Pityana and other 21 students are expelled from the University of Fort Hare. The University of the North Students' Representative Council holds a strike to offer solidarity to the expelled students. |
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| 1969 |
1 July |
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The constitution of the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) is adopted at the inaugural conference and Steve Biko is elected president.
Other leading party members include: Barney Pityana,Harry Nengwekhulu, Hendrick Musi, Petrus Machaka, Manana Kgware, Aubrey Mokoape, J Goolam and Strini Moodley.
Though the new organisation is committed to a philosophy of Black Consciousness, it does not reject the liberalism of National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) right away. |
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| 1970 |
July |
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The first General Students' Council of South African Students' Organisation (SASO) is convened, where the organisation takes a bolder stance. The organisation encourages contact between SASO and other multi-racial organisations such as the United Christian Movement (UCM) and the Institute of Race Relations, but recognition of National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) as a "true" national union of students is withdrawn. SASO becomes identified with a well-articulated ideology of Black Consciousness. |
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| 1970 |
August |
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In an article published in the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) newsletter Steve Biko writes: "The integration they (liberals) talk about...is artificial...one-way of course, with the Whites doing all the talking and the Blacks the listening" |
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| 1971 |
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South African Students' Organisation (SASO) helps launch the Black Community Programme.
Strini Moodley and Saths Cooper, members of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) urge other Indian activists to embrace the Black Consciousness ideology. Although there is sympathy among NIC members, they view South African Students Organisation's ideas of Black consciousness as potentially leading to Black racism. |
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| 1971 |
July |
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Adoption of the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) policy manifesto, stating the centrality of the Black Consciousness doctrine. |
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| 1972 |
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Three important Black Consciousness Organisations are established:
1 The Black People's Convention (BPC)
2 Black Community Project (BPC)
3 South African Students' Movement (SASM)
The Chatsworth train boycott, a public stance on foreign investment attracts more attention to the Black People's Convention (BPC) The Black Allied Workers' Union is also launched. |
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| 1972 |
3 May |
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| 1972 |
12 May |
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The South African Students' Organisation (SASO) adopts the “Alice Declaration” at the federal Theological Seminary in the Eastern Cape. The Declaration resolves that students nationwide should close down Black institutions of higher education through lecture boycotts in support of the expelled, Onkgopotse Abram Tiro, from the University of the North (Turfloop) |
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| 1972 |
1 June |
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The planned reopening of the University of the North (Turfloop) fails. Every major Black campus endorses strike action. Their grievances go beyond the Turfloop expulsions to reiterate long-standing student complaints about domination by White staff, biased curricula and demeaning campus conditions. |
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| 1972 |
2 July - 9 July |
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Themba Sono is ousted as South African Students' Organisation (SASO) President, in a General Student Council meeting held in Hammanskraal. Sono stands for close co-operation between SASO and some homeland leaders. Chief Gatsha Buthelezi is seen by as an undeniable force in South Africa politics. SASO advocates a radical approach towards the homeland leaders, calling them puppets of the Pretoria regime.
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| 1972 |
16 December |
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The first national congress of the Black People's Convention (BPC) is held in Hammanskraal.
Activist Mthuli Shezi, who inspired Black Consciousness ideas through his writings and plays, dies. He is pushed beneath a moving train at Germiston Station for standing up for the dignity of Black women who were being drenched with water by a White station cleaner. |
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| 1973 |
January - February |
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Durban is swept by a wave of spontaneous strikes by Black workers. This prompts reserved acknowledgment from industry, and attracts worldwide publicity. Though none of the Black organisations can claim credit for the strikes, nonetheless the strikes demonstrate the potential for successful industrial action. Many Black radicals consider the possibility of forming a student-worker alliance. The Black People's Convention (BPC) give their support to the Durban strikers. |
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| 1973 |
March |
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Initially the government views the Black Consciousness movement as apparently supportive of their 'separate development' ideology, and thus tolerates them. Later clamp-downs see bannings of South African Students' Organisation (SASO) and Black People's Convention (BPC) leaders Steve Biko, Barney Pityana and six others. |
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| 1974 |
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The performance of Black drama and music by mushrooming township cultural groups becomes a significant factor in the dispersal of Black Consciousness philosophy.
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| 1974 |
1 February |
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The assassination of Onkgopotse Abram Tiro occurs. A Bureau of State Security (BOSS) hit squad, also known as the Z-Squad, is responsible for sending him a parcel bomb. As a result, Black students boycott lectures and their institutions are forced to shut down. Click here to read a speech which was delivered at a commemoration of the life of Onkgopotse Abram Tiro. |
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| 1974 |
March |
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Harri Singh goes on a trip to Europe to raise funds for the Black People's Convention (BPC) without any success. |
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| 1974 |
25 September |
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"Viva Frelimo' Rallies are held by the Black People's Convention (BPC) and South African Students' Organisation (SASO) to celebrate the fall of the Portuguese government in Mozambique. The police subsequently suppress the rallies by means of bans and detentions. The "South African Students' Organisation (SASO) Nine", are charged under the Terrorism Act for encouraging disorder at the time of the Frelimo support rallies. Rather than contributing to the suppression of Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) ideology as the government hoped to achieve, the seventeen month long trial merely serves to disseminate the ideology even more widely, giving the accused a continuous public platform through the press. |
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| 1975 |
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In the Pretoria Supreme Court, South African Students' Organisation (SASO) and Black People's Convention (BPC) leaders accused of promoting anti-White' feelings, of encouraging racial hostility and preparing for violent revolution, are convicted under the Terrorism Act. |
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| 1976 |
16 June |
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The Soweto Uprisings begin with about 20 000 students marching in protest to the new language decree and the Bantu Education system. The march turns violent with many students being killed by the South African Police (SAP) . The uprising spreads countrywide, and it is believed that the Black Consciousness movement contributed significantly to the ferment behind the uprising. |
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| 1976 |
5 August |
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Mapetla Mohapi dies in detention, police claim that he hung himself with a pair of jeans. |
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| 1976 |
December |
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The accused South African Students' Organisation (SASO) and Black People's Convention (BPC) leaders of the September 1974, "Viva Frelimo" rallies are sentenced to terms on Robben Island. |
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| 1977 |
12 September |
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Steve Biko dies in detention in Pretoria after being tortured and beaten by security police. Magistrate Prins delivered the following verdict:
a)The identity of the deceased is Stephen Bantu Biko, Black man, approximately 30 years old;
b)Date of death: 12 September 1977;
c)Cause or likely cause of death: Head injury with associated extensive brain injury, followed by contusion of the blood circulation, disseminated intravascular coagulation as well as renal failure with uraemia. The head injury was probably sustained during the deceased was involved in a scuffle with members of the Security Branch of the South African Police at Port Elizabeth.
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| 1977 |
19 October |
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South African Police (SAP) jail dozens of government opponents not previously detained, including The World editor Percy Qoboza.
Banning orders are issued to Beyers Naudé and Donald Woods, two prominent Whites who had publicly supported Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). Justice Minister, Jimmy Kruger places bans on all movements affiliated with the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). Along with South African Students' Organisation (SASO) and Black People's Convention (BPC) the following organisations are included in the bannings: AASECA, the Black Parents Association, the Black Women's Federation, the Border Youth Organisation, the Christian Institute of Southern Africa (a multi-racial organisation of anti-apartheid churchmen), the Eastern Province Youth Organisation, the Medupe Writers' Association, the Natal Youth Organisation, the Transvaal Youth Organisation, the Union of Black Journalists, and the Western Cape Youth Organisation. |
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| 1978 |
April |
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The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) is formed. |
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| 1980 |
12 April |
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The Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA) is formed in London, UK. |
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| 1988 |
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The banning of the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) and the Azanian Youth Organisation (AZAYO) occurs.
Black Consciousness members leave the country and others join the African National Congress (ANC) in exile, where they undergo military training in several countries, many in the Soviet Union. |
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| 1990 |
2 February |
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Bans on all political organisations are lifted.
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| 1991 |
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The Azanian Student Convention (AZASCO) is launched at the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA), Pretoria. |
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| 1994 |
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The African National Congress (ANC) and Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) agree on a task force to look at the issue of land possession and Black empowerment. |
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| 1994 |
January |
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The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) launches an anti-election campaign as the party feels the ideology of Black Consciouness, for which Steve Biko fought and died, has not been addressed. |
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| 1994 |
27 April |
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The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) boycott the first democratic general election in South Africa. |
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| 1994 |
9 October |
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The Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA) dissolves into the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO). |
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| 1998 |
21 March |
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Another party claiming to be the legitimate custodian of Black Consciousness, the Socialist Party of Azania (SoPA) is formed. SoPA is formed by a breakaway group of the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO). |
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| 1999 |
2 June |
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Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) contest the second democratic election, but performs badly and gets 1 seat in the National Assembly. |
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| 2003 |
1 February |
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Address “On the occasion of the commemoration of the life of Onkgopotse Abraham Tiro” by Bokwe Mafuna in Meadowlands, Soweto. |
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