On 2 September 2014, a crowd gathered in Sebokeng. The day was sunny and mild, the mood festive. The air was filled with the sound of drums and a dance show entertained those that were present. The crowd had come to pay tribute and respect to the thousands of people who had assembled in the same place 30 years earlier. Planning to retrace the steps of the original marchers, they were flanked by high-powered local luminaries in expensive cars. Young and old were in the streets, just as they had been in 1984. Many were wearing African National Congress (ANC) T-shirts, others wore clothing that signified their place in the struggle for freedom: ‘Robben Island’ said the zip-up top of one prominent activist. Some were marching in military uniforms to emphasise their contribution to the armed struggle. Former activists of the Vaal Civic Association (VCA) and the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), who had been at the forefront of protest politics during the 1980s, were among the crowd. Many were happy that this watershed moment was being commemorated and that the Vaal Triangle’s role in ending white minority rule was being acknowledged. Born-frees, who never experienced the brutality of apartheid, were quoted as saying that they were proud of their region’s history. And politicians voiced their commitment to prosperity and progress. David Makhura, the chairperson of ANC Gauteng, in his speech spoke about the need to ‘reindustrialise’ the region to create employment and combat poverty. MP Paul Mashatile affirmed, ‘Now that we have brought about freedom and democracy, we must build a better life for all our people.’ Other speakers used the occasion to remind residents to pay their rent ‘to make this new government work’; in the Vaal Triangle, the rent boycott has become so entrenched that 25 years after the dawn of democracy it is still ongoing.

But despite the festivity and cheer, the dissatisfaction of some was palpable. Reid Mokoena of the Sharpeville Six angrily proclaimed, ‘My sacrifice for the country seems to have been for some people to have big cars and big houses.’ Others refrained from attending the commemoration. These sentiments are not new and are regularly expressed as the anniversary of the Vaal Uprising approaches. For many, the date is a reminder of their sacrifice, their pain and the hardship they went through during the struggle against oppression and white minority rule.