Cry of the African Child

On the morning of June 16, 1976 about 20, 000 school children from Soweto marched against a racist administration that was systemically stripping them of their right to education.

Between 176 and 700 of them lost their lives on that day and in the subsequent two-weeks it took for the apartheid government to forcefully snuffle out the protests.

Blood had been spilt, young, innocent lives had been extinguished in an instant and the world was horrified. As the image of a dying Hector Pieterson became seared in the global conscience, a spirit even greater than the tragedy began to take root.

Editor's Comment
Molepolole unrest: Urgent attention on missing person cases

From Jakoba's mysterious disappearance on November 9 to the grim discovery of his remains at Mosinki Lands, a gap in the response mechanisms of the police and village leadership has been laid bare. The community's anger is evident, seen in the attack on Bakang Masole, the man found driving Jakoba's taxi and the main suspect, and the subsequent riot. Residents express discontent, citing a troubling trend of missing persons cases often...

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