Boipatong
Encyclopedia
Boipatong is a township
near Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng
, South Africa
. It was established in 1955
to house black residents who worked in Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging.
Boipatong means "the place of hiding" in the South Sotho language. Boipaong's expansion is in tandem with the growth of Afrikaner Nationalism and the South African discrimination policy called apartheid.
Boipatong along with other surrounding townships was a pool of cheap labour for the steel industry, ISCOR
. ISCOR was built mainly as part of job creation and poverty eradication for the white working class. Although small it was one of the places where the anger of the black people was felt during the marches of the 1960s against the carrying of passes.
on 17 June 1992, when 46 township residents were massacred by local hostel-dwellers. This happened at a time when Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) negotiations towards the end of apartheid in South Africa were in progress. Boipatong massacre was one of the reasons that led to the suspension of the talks. The African National Congress
(ANC) National Working Committee released a statement that they could not negotiate in condition where majority of the poor were killed in a state sponsored violence. They subsequently withdrew from the talks only to return after the then-State President FW De Klerk committed to controlling his security forces. This was the second year after the release of Nelson Mandela
. This event was attended by 228 delegates from 19 political parties. On further investigation and revelation from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
(TRC) this massacre was confirmed to be state-sponsored. The hostel dwellers who killed the residents were Inkatha Freedom Party
(IFP) members who later confessed in the TRC they were transported by government police cars and led by white police officers who painted their faces black.
This massacre is added in the lawsuit that is taking place in the USA courts against multi-national corporations that did business with the apartheid South Africa.
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
near Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It was established in 1955
1955 in South Africa
-January:* Mimi Coertse makes her debut as the First Flower girl in Parsifal at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples with Karl Böhm conducting.-March:...
to house black residents who worked in Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging.
Boipatong means "the place of hiding" in the South Sotho language. Boipaong's expansion is in tandem with the growth of Afrikaner Nationalism and the South African discrimination policy called apartheid.
Boipatong along with other surrounding townships was a pool of cheap labour for the steel industry, ISCOR
Iscor
Mittal Steel South Africa is part of the steel company Arcelor-Mittal. The company was originally Iscor Limited, a South African parastatal steel company...
. ISCOR was built mainly as part of job creation and poverty eradication for the white working class. Although small it was one of the places where the anger of the black people was felt during the marches of the 1960s against the carrying of passes.
Boipatong massacre
It was the site of the infamous Boipatong massacreBoipatong massacre
The Boipatong massacre took place on 17 June 1992 in Boipatong, South Africa when Inkatha Freedom Party members killed 46 people. On the night of 17 June 1992, a heavily-armed force of Inkatha members secretly raided the Vaal township of Boipatong and killed 46 people...
on 17 June 1992, when 46 township residents were massacred by local hostel-dwellers. This happened at a time when Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) negotiations towards the end of apartheid in South Africa were in progress. Boipatong massacre was one of the reasons that led to the suspension of the talks. The African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC) National Working Committee released a statement that they could not negotiate in condition where majority of the poor were killed in a state sponsored violence. They subsequently withdrew from the talks only to return after the then-State President FW De Klerk committed to controlling his security forces. This was the second year after the release of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
. This event was attended by 228 delegates from 19 political parties. On further investigation and revelation from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid. Witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences, and some were selected...
(TRC) this massacre was confirmed to be state-sponsored. The hostel dwellers who killed the residents were Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
(IFP) members who later confessed in the TRC they were transported by government police cars and led by white police officers who painted their faces black.
This massacre is added in the lawsuit that is taking place in the USA courts against multi-national corporations that did business with the apartheid South Africa.