Vaal Triangle erupts in violence

Date: 3 Sep 1984
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Boipatong, Bophelong, Evaton, Sebokeng and Sharpeville, five Black townships in the area known as the Vaal Triangle exploded into what some have described as a 'smouldering human rage'. The catalyst for the violence was rent increases proposed by the Black-run town councils. Three township councillors, including the deputy mayor of the Vaal Triangle, Kuzwayo Jacob Dlamini, were killed in mob violence on this day. In the weeks following the killings five men and one woman who become internationally known as the "Sharpeville Six" , were tried, convicted and sentenced to hang for the killings. Click here to read an historical account of township violence during SA's transition years.

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How we know this

01Noonan, P. 2003. they're burning the churches. Jacana: South Africa
02South African History Archive, 'Against Black Local Authorities',[online], Available at www.saha.org.za [Accessed: 03 September 2013]
03South African History Online, Township Uprising, 1984-1985,[online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 03 September 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Vaal Triangle erupts in violence. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012558

South African History Online (2011) 'Vaal Triangle erupts in violence', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012558 (Accessed: 21 July 2026).

South African History Online, Vaal Triangle erupts in violence [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012558, (accessed 21 July 2026).

"Vaal Triangle erupts in violence." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012558. Accessed 21 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Vaal Triangle erupts in violence." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012558.