Sharpeville Massacre victims seek redress decades after apartheid-era killings

More than six decades after apartheid-era police opened fire on unarmed protesters in Sharpeville, survivors and families of those killed are seeking legal redress from the South African government.

The victims and their families have launched a legal claim demanding reparations and justice for the 21 March 1960 massacre, in which at least 91 people were killed and 238 wounded.

The claim, supported by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), seeks to overturn the Indemnity Act of 1961, legislation introduced by the former apartheid government that prevented survivors and dependants of those killed from pursuing civil and criminal claims against specified state officials.

LHR says the legislation remains in force and has prevented victims and their families from seeking damages for the massacre.

The plaintiffs argue that the Act is incompatible with their constitutional right of access to courts and should be removed from the statute book.

The legal action was launched in Sharpeville on Thursday, following a silent walk of witness by relatives and survivors along the route taken by protesters before they paid tribute to those killed at the Sharpeville Memorial Garden.

Among the lead claimants is 87-year-old Abram Mofokeng, who was 20 when police opened fire on the crowd. He was shot in the foot and back while fleeing the gunfire. A bullet remains lodged in his back.

Mofokeng was subsequently imprisoned for participating in the protest and subjected to further mistreatment. His claim for compensation was extinguished by the Indemnity Act, while his application for an ex-gratia payment was rejected because he was considered a protester.

“I grieve for my community; neighbours killed, families broken, and generations left without closure,” Mofokeng said.

“It is not possible to forget what happened in 1960. It traumatised us mentally and physically.”

The legal action also represents descendants who say they have suffered the consequences of losing their parents during the massacre.

Paulina Mathinye was almost five years old when her father, Samson Mathinye, was killed. She said his death left the family struggling financially and deprived her and her siblings of basic necessities.

“I was never able to get justice for my father’s death, and my soul is not happy,” Mathinye said.

“I didn’t have the information about the TRC, so I didn’t go… The police killed my father. There is nothing that could bring him back, but I want justice to be done.”

Another claimant, Ishmael Poho, was six when his father, Gilbert Poho Dimo, was killed. He described the impact of his father's death as devastating, saying his “world came crashing down”.

Poho’s family was forced to search body bags at the Sharpeville police station for his father’s remains and was not allowed to bury him themselves.

Both Mathinye and Poho continue to live in the family homes where they grew up.

LHR says the legal claim is also aimed at forcing the government to address what it describes as the failure to fully implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The TRC was established after 1994 to address the legacy of apartheid through truth-telling, accountability and reparations. However, LHR says its recommendations on reparations have not been effectively implemented, with many victims receiving limited financial assistance.

More than 70 survivors and close family members of those killed in the Sharpeville Massacre have so far expressed support for, or interest in joining, the proposed litigation.

Charne Tracey of LHR said the plaintiffs wanted to enter into dialogue with the government over appropriate reparations but were prepared to pursue the matter through the courts.

“They are under no illusions that they must carry a legal stick if their voices are going to be listened to,” Tracey said.

The claimants will argue that the Indemnity Act prevented the normal prescription period for their claims from running. If the government argues that the claims are prescribed, they intend to argue that the three-year period should only begin once the Act is struck down.

For the ageing survivors and families of those killed, the case represents a renewed effort to obtain redress for a tragedy that remains deeply embedded in Sharpeville’s history.

The massacre became a turning point in the struggle against apartheid, drawing international condemnation and contributing to South Africa’s growing isolation.

Yet for those who survived the shootings and the families of those who did not, the fight for justice remains unfinished.

The legal claim now seeks to bring the victims’ demand for reparations before the courts more than 66 years after the bloodshed.