Biko had a clear insight into the psychological aspect of the oppression of his time which resulted in momentary (brief) political impotence (weakness). As politics was racialised by apartheid, the movement was called Black Consciousness. His message was simple and clear: Do not be a part of your oppression. It was a crucial intervention, a fresh, youthful and distinctive voice that mobilised people when all the major political opposition was banned and their leaders were in exile or in jail. It provided a new, vital, unifying element to the ANC, as Wally Serote said, ‘oxygen and new life, which the movement desperately needed’.

Black Consciousness worked with consensus decision-making. It instilled independent thinking, self-reliance, fearlessness and dignity. Biko and his contemporaries (colleagues) broke the stunned (shocked) silence of their time. The refusal of a new generation of young blacks to be subservient (obedient) or humiliated, even in the face of death, changed the nature of the struggle. Biko himself lived and died by this truth. A key catalyst (promoter) of transformation, Biko’s generation inspired a culture of fearlessness.

I grew up in an environment in which many of my peers did not value their own lives and I consider myself fortunate to have encountered Black Consciousness at an early stage. Black Consciousness helped to transform my self-concept and self-esteem in a remarkable way.

When I joined the Black Consciousness Movement, I was only 16. At the time the environment was not entirely friendly towards the BCM. Our belief in Black Consciousness was so strong we were not prepared to go into hiding purely because other forces had threatened to ‘deal’ with us or deny us employment if we didn’t abandon our political beliefs. This kind of reaction fortified (encouraged) us even more and we decided to spread the gospel of Black Consciousness even more vigorously (stronger).

Thanks to Black Consciousness, many in my generation were transformed into young disciplined black men who through their community activism, earned the respect and admiration of their peers, families and the community. Ever since I came into contact with Black Consciousness, I have felt complete, content with who I am and most importantly, that I’m worthy of respect and dignity.

In 1976 the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was very strong and black students were at the forefront of the struggle. Police arrested many student leaders and put them on trial. Through these political trials, the government wanted to show that the students were dangerous because they spread the ideas of Black Consciousness. The police said black consciousness made black people hate whites.

In May, Steve got the chance to show that this was not true. He was called as a defence witness in the trial of nine young South African Student Organisation (SASO) students. A witness in a court of law can say things that are heard by everyone and reported all over the country. It was the first time Steve had spoken in public for three years. The whole world heard him talk about Black Consciousness.

He showed that the movement was not trying to make black people hate whites. Black Consciousness wanted black people to be proud of their colour, not ashamed. The world listened carefully to what Steve said, but the South African government refused to listen.

Anger in the township grew. On 16 June 1976 thousands of Sowetan students protested in the streets against the apartheid laws. The security forces opened fire and students were killed.

In the year after the elections, Parliament’s Justice Portfolio Committee drafted legislation to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The seventeen- member Commission was given the task of establishing as complete a picture as possible of the causes, nature and extent of the gross violation of human rights violations committed in the period between 1 March 1960 and 1994 by conducting investigations and holding hearings. This period is seen as the most severe ‘crime against humanity’ by the apartheid regime.

It also had to facilitate the granting of amnesty to persons who made full disclosure of all the relevant facts related to acts associated with a political objective. In addition, the Commission was required to restore the human and civil dignity of victims, recommend reparation measures and to compile a report of its findings and activities. They also had to recommend measures to prevent future violations of human rights.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), as it was duly (accordingly) established, consisted of three committees. The first of these was the Human Rights Violation Committee, which had to look into the accounts of victims through hearings and investigations. The second was the Amnesty Committee, which had to evaluate amnesty applications. It had to apply the Norgard principles to determine whether an application qualified for amnesty. The third committee, the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee, had to formulate a reparation policy to restore and rehabilitate the lives of victims and survivors of human rights violations.

Shortly before the end of the apartheid era, Amy Biehl was murdered. She was a victim of racial violence. Amy Biehl was white. She dedicated herself to ending apartheid in South Africa and was based at the University of the Western Cape and working in underprivileged communities. She also helped with voter registration in advance of the ‘Freedom Day’ elections. Amy knew Gugulethu and its people well, or thought she did. She was to be found in the township almost every day or night, could speak isiXhosa and do the phantsula. “That’s how much she fitted in here”, said Melanie Jacobs, the black woman who shared a house with Amy in Cape Town. “She loved Africa. She wasn’t just another white person”.

On the evening of 25 August, 1993, Amy drove through Gugulethu township and fell prey (victim) to an angry group of black youths. They pelted (bombarded) Biehl’s car with rocks, forcing her to stop, then dragged her from her car and murdered her, yelling, ‘Kill the Settler!’. Her parents were informed that their daughter had been beaten and stabbed to death.

Police arrested two teenage suspects, student members of a militant nationalist group, the Pan Africanist Congress, whose slogan is, ‘One settler, one bullet’. In Cape Town, the killing of the popular scholar has stirred a black backlash (reaction) against the militant group that promoted hatred for whites. The African National Congress offered its township network to help identify the killers. Friends and colleagues, after memorialising Miss Biehl with freedom songs, paraded through Gugulethu with placards declaring, ‘Comrades come in all colours’.

The four youths, Mzikhona Nofemela, Ntobeka Peni, Vusumzi Ntamo and Mongezi Manqina that were convicted of murdering Amy and given a prison sentence of eighteen years, applied for amnesty. The killers of Amy apologised to the parents for what a Truth Commission lawyer described as mindless savagery by a ‘pack of murderers’. The four Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) supporters were challenged on their claims before the Amnesty Committee that the mob killing was politically motivated.

Biehl’s parents, Peter and Linda, shook hands with relatives of the four men at the start of the proceedings. In written affidavits submitted to the TRC’s Amnesty Committee, the four said they regretted the murder and asked Biehl’s parents for forgiveness. “I feel sorry and very down-hearted, especially today, realising the contribution Amy Biehl played in the struggle,” Peni said. However, he and his co- applicants insisted that the killing was politically motivated and inspired by the PAC’s slogan, ‘One settler, One bullet’. Peni testified Paso’s executive had ordered its members to make Gugulethu ungovernable and to assist the PAC’s armed wing, the Azanian People’s Liberation Army, in winning back black people’s land. “I regarded this as an instruction to also harm, injure and kill white people.”

In 1998, Biehl’s killers were pardoned by the TRC (a decision the family endorsed) and released from prison after serving four years. The Biehls said they believe their daughter would have supported the Commission’s decision to grant amnesty.