Five weeks after students in Soweto took to the streets in 1976 demonstrating against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in African schools, Mhluzi township in Middelburg (Mpumalanga) erupted. The demonstration was spearheaded mainly by students from Sozama Secondary School and inaugurated a period of intense protest against schools and government institutions that continued episodically from July 1976 to May 1978. Various scholars, political commentators and activists have, over the years, extensively researched South African student politics, but the struggles in Mhluzi township have been largely ignored.

The Cillie Commission of Enquiry, headed by the then Supreme Court Judge President, Judge Piet Cillie, noted that ‘in comparison with other regions, the Eastern Transvaal saw very little rioting. Moreover, the riots were not of a very high intensity’. Similarly, Holden and Mathabatha argued that ‘the protests of 16 June 1976 had little impact in the region’. This was true for many areas in the region. Although some of the students in some areas in the Eastern Transvaal attempted to rise and demonstrate, this was largely sporadic and was quickly quelled by the police.

In this chapter I will argue that the reason for the intense demonstrations in Mhluzi was largely because some of the students, particularly the leaders, had been introduced to politics prior to the uprising. This enabled them to organise and sustain the demonstrations in the township. Furthermore, I will show that the role played by teachers adhering to the Black Consciousness (BC) philosophy, and students who studied outside South Africa, was crucial in conscientising some of the young people in Mhluzi.

Mhluzi township

Mhluzi is an African township in Middelburg, Mpumalanga province (formerly Eastern Transvaal). Middelburg, formerly called Nazareth, was proclaimed a new district in 1872. Coalfields were the main employment centres. Over the years it grew steadily. By the 1930s the African township, Mhluzi (meaning gravy in IsiZulu), had already been established. Unlike its neighbouring township Kwaguqa, in Witbank, Mhluzi seemed to have been a relatively quiet township politically. This changed, however, in the early 1970s. During this period, many young people in various townships across the country were being introduced to the teachings of BC.