Phakamile Mabija
Encyclopedia
Phakamile Mabija was an African anti-Apartheid activist, and member of the Anglican Nomads Educational Group, who was detained by the South African Police
on 27 June 1977 for alleged involvement in an incident when African and Coloured commuters stoned public transport during a bus boycott in Galeshewe
, Kimberley
, South Africa
. Mabija was due to appear in court on 8 July 1977 under charges under the Riotous Assemblies Act. Mabija died in detention on 7 July 1977, the day before his scheduled court hearing. He plunged from the 6th floor of Transvaal Road police station in Kimberley.
The Dean of Kimberley
, as Vicar General, received the news in the absence of Bishop Graham Charles Chadwick
(Mabija was a full-time youth worker in the Anglican Parish of St James, Galeshewe
). Upon his return, Chadwick took up the protest against Mabija's death (particularly after the inquest proved to be a fiasco) and the continued detention of his clergy. White wooden crosses were planted on the lawn outside Kimberley's St Cyprian's Cathedral
for each day that the detentions continued, church bells being rung in protest.
The renaming of Transvaal Road and Jones Street in Kimberley, as Phakamile Mabija Road, was marked by a ceremony held on Heritage Day 24 September 2011, following a commemorative lecture the previous evening. The city had previously named a street for Mabija, namely Phakamile Mabija Street, off Albert Luthuli Street, off John Daka, west of Otto’s Kopje Mine.
A collective mural art project in Galeshewe
, Kimberley, directed by Rochester Mafafu, vividly recalls the events surrounding Mabija's death.
South African Police
The South African Police was the country's police force until 1994. The SAP traced its origin to the Dutch Watch, a paramilitary organization formed by settlers in the Cape in 1655, initially to protect civilians against attack and later to maintain law and order...
on 27 June 1977 for alleged involvement in an incident when African and Coloured commuters stoned public transport during a bus boycott in Galeshewe
Galeshewe
Galeshewe is a township located in the Sol Plaatje Municipality, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is named after Kgosi Galeshewe....
, Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Mabija was due to appear in court on 8 July 1977 under charges under the Riotous Assemblies Act. Mabija died in detention on 7 July 1977, the day before his scheduled court hearing. He plunged from the 6th floor of Transvaal Road police station in Kimberley.
The Dean of Kimberley
Thomas Stanage
Thomas Shaun Stanage was Bishop of Bloemfontein in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa from 1982 to 1997.-Biography:Stanage was born in Ireland in 1932 and was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford and Cuddesdon College .He was ordained deacon in 1958, priest in 1959 and bishop in 1978 and went...
, as Vicar General, received the news in the absence of Bishop Graham Charles Chadwick
Graham Charles Chadwick
Graham Charles Chadwick was a British Christian missionary, bishop and anti-apartheid campaigner in South Africa....
(Mabija was a full-time youth worker in the Anglican Parish of St James, Galeshewe
). Upon his return, Chadwick took up the protest against Mabija's death (particularly after the inquest proved to be a fiasco) and the continued detention of his clergy. White wooden crosses were planted on the lawn outside Kimberley's St Cyprian's Cathedral
St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
for each day that the detentions continued, church bells being rung in protest.
Naming of streets to commemorate Phakamile Mabija
In 2009 steps were taken to rename the Transvaal Road Police Station in his memory, when initially Transvaal Road, Jones Street and Sidney Street, and then only Transvaal Road, in Kimberley would also become known as Phakamile Mabija Road.The renaming of Transvaal Road and Jones Street in Kimberley, as Phakamile Mabija Road, was marked by a ceremony held on Heritage Day 24 September 2011, following a commemorative lecture the previous evening. The city had previously named a street for Mabija, namely Phakamile Mabija Street, off Albert Luthuli Street, off John Daka, west of Otto’s Kopje Mine.
A collective mural art project in Galeshewe
Galeshewe
Galeshewe is a township located in the Sol Plaatje Municipality, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is named after Kgosi Galeshewe....
, Kimberley, directed by Rochester Mafafu, vividly recalls the events surrounding Mabija's death.