The Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture will commemorate the 71st anniversary of the 1952 Mayibuye Uprisings by hosting an inter-generational social dialogue at Abantu Batho Hall in Galeshewe in the Frances Baard District on Saturday, November 11, 2023. The social dialogue will be held to exchange ideas between young and old around the preservation of Mayibuye Precinct as a heritage site. The occasion will be graced by the presence of MEC for Sport, Arts, and Culture, Ms. Desery Fienies, together with the leadership of Frances Baard and Sol Plaatje Municipalities. MEC Fienies is scheduled to deliver a keynote address.
The 2023 commemoration of the Mayibuye Uprisings will see collaborative work between DSAC and the Department of Education. The Department of Education will invite school learners from various high schools around the Kimberley area to take part in this educational social dialogue. The dialogue, which will be facilitated by a prominent Northern Cape historian, Mr. Sephai Mngqolo, will expose the younger generation to the realities of 1952 while seeking solutions to the daily challenges of the 21st century.
They will also try to find workable solutions towards the preservation of the Mayibuye Precinct, which bears the historical significance of the fateful apartheid defiance campaign. During the campaign, protesters led by Dr. Arthur Alias Letele demonstrated against the apartheid laws by occupying racially segregated public spaces in Kimberley. They blocked the white-only entrances to the main post office and sat defiantly on the white-only benches at the train station. Dr. Letele and seven other leaders were arrested, further fueling resentment and leading to riots in the town of Galeshewe Number Two, where both public and private property was destroyed. The protests continued on the second day, November 8, 1952, and led to further arrests. The police station and several other buildings, including the crèche, were burned down. Police, municipal, and private vehicles were set on fire. As the protesters marched towards the city, they were stopped by the police, who opened fire on them indiscriminately.
Thirteen people were killed and seven were injured. In recent times, the area in Township Number Two where the memorial was erected has been the subject of repeated vandalism and theft, which has hampered the government's plans to commemorate the historic event appropriately.
-End- For media inquiries and RSVPs: Mr. Morapedi Sekhoane, Head of Communications, 078 944 0200; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; and Mr. Conrad Fortune, Media Liaison Officer, 079 873 0679; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
ISSUED BY THE NORTHERN CAPE DEPARTMENT OF SPORT, ARTS, AND CULTURE
