Media Statement

The African National Congress (ANC) remembers 28 martyrs of the Bisho Massacre who fell at the hands of the repressive Bantustan regime of Joshua Oupa Gqozo in the former Ciskei government.

On this tragic day of 07 September 1992, a peaceful march was embarked upon by thousands of unarmed protesters and ANC cadres, and the then Ciskei Defence Force opened fire and shot at the protesters. The march was in protest of the military rule in Ciskei and a call for freedom and unity.

Gqozo’s grand plan was part of the apartheid strategy to resist the establishment of a democratic state and to undermine negotiations, and the incorporation of Ciskei into South Africa as part of the Republic, an end to separate development of Bantustan homelands, which were tentacles and extensions of the apartheid government and policy of segregation premised on the divide and rule strategy, and entrenchment of tribalism.

In the aftermath of the massacre, this gave impetus and committed the then apartheid government that was forced to negotiate a peaceful settlement towards free political activity and the creation of a democratic South Africa, and a Record of Understanding to oversee police operations.

The mortals of these noble martyrs lie in Ginsberg, Qonce, (former King Williams Town) in the Eastern Cape Province, dignified by the erection of a granite monument in honor of their bravery. The country owes our freedom and democracy to the sacrifices made by these heroes and heroines, who fought for democracy we enjoy today.

We dip our revolutionary banner in remembrance of these martyrs. The ANC commemorates this tragic day as it contributed to the transitioning and creation of a united and democratic South Africa.