Last month, on Saturday, 15 August 2026, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) together with the Forge, commemorated the 14th anniversary of Marikana and 50 years since the 1976 Soweto uprising. The anniversaries provided an opportunity to reflect on the connections between these pivotal moments and contemporary youth struggles.
In 1976, apartheid police killed at least 563 young people during the Soweto Uprising. In 2012, during the week leading up to the Marikana massacre, 44 people were killed, including 37 mineworkers who were killed by police on 13 and 16 August 2012. Of the mineworkers killed, 18 were under the age of 35. Subsequent student protests that have drawn inspiration from both these moments in South Africa's history have also encountered similar state violence. In 2021, police shot and killed 35-year-old Mthokozisi Ntumba when they dispersed and pursued protesting students in Braamfontein. And yet, after many years, no one has successfully been convicted for any of these deaths.
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The programme brought together music and critical reflection on the connections across the 1976 student uprising, the 2012 strike and massacre; and contemporary student protests. The programme included a panel discussion including panellists Nowili Nungu and Sebolai Liau, children of mineworkers killed in the Marikana massacre, who bravely shared the impact that the continued lack of state accountability has had on their families 14 years on. Nungu and Liau were joined by Dinga Sikwebu and Julian Brown. Sikwebu is a political activist and former trade unionist who took part in the 1976 youth rebellion in Cape Town. Brown is an Associate Professor of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and is the author of Soweto Uprising (2026) and Marikana: A People's History (2022). Sikwebu and Brown reflected discussed the role of the youth in these important struggles and the continuum of state violence in South Africa from 1976 to 2012 and beyond, with contemporary protests. They also critically reflected on what commissions of inquiry hide and reveal following incidents of police violence. SERI's Musawenkosi Cabe facilitated the discussion.
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Pan-Africanist band iPhupho L'ka Biko opened and closed the event with a musical lecture sharing the inspiration behind their music, chief amongst which is a deep love for black people and a need to convey their lived experiences through song. The event also highlighted the Johannesburg City Council's recent decision approving the renaming of De Beer Street in Braamfontein to Mthokozisi Ntumba Street to memorialise Mr Ntumba and to recognise the continuing struggle against police violence in South Africa. Lehlohonolo Peega, who led the campaign to rename De Beer Street, shared a few words about the campaign and ongoing efforts to erect a memorial sculpture in Ntumba's honour.
For those interested in supporting these efforts, please reach out to Peega at
- Watch a recording of the event here.