Murder on the Mines: Who Is Guilty?

Publications, Research,

"It is very sad that today I am being sentenced for something which I did not do with my own hands. I have no-one's blood on my hands. That is all." These were the words of Lucky Nomnganga before he was sentenced to death by the judge in Welkom in November 1988. Lucky Nomnganga was the secretary of the shaft stewards's committee at the Number 6 shaft at Western Holdings Gold Mine near Welkom in the Free State. The court case concerned the events of 5 June 1987, when two white mine officials were murdered at the mine. One of them was a mine engineer and the other a mine security officer. Six mineworkers were shot dead by mine security guards the same day. This is an analysis of that event and the search for justice.

Graeme Simpson
01 Sep 1989
Publications, Research, , ,

This paper looks to define torture and those that experience it. It emphasizes that torture destroys the voice of the victim, while censorship destroys the voice of those who might speak on her behalf. Torture destroys language, the contents of consciousness, the Self and the predictability of human interaction. In this way it attempts to annihilate the humanity of the victim, but at the same time brutalises the torturer and state officials involved.

Shirley Spitz
17 May 1989
Publications, Research, ,

The focus of this paper is state violence. It is argued that South African state security strategy in the period 1984-1988 was characterised by an increasing violence which was sanctioned by law. This violence was either inscribed in the law or unrestrained by the law. It is mainly directed against anti-apartheid activists both within and without South Africa's borders.

Jacklyn Cock
21 Mar 1989
Publications, Research, ,

In August 1986, JGJ van Vuuren, chief executive of Armscor, when interviewed about his upbringing and the background to his involvement in the armaments industry in South Africa, commented: My childhood was one of clay-pellet fights with the coloured boys and growing up with my parents' interests' (Finansies en Tegniek, 12.9.1986).  This quotation provides an apt introduction to this chapter, which attempts to map out briefly the integration of the political and economic features of the developing armaments industry in South Africa.

Graeme Simpson
01 Mar 1989
Publications, Research, ,

The author discusses the topic of growing up in violent situations from a number of perspectives. Firstly, she gives a psychological perspective to the notion of resilience, invulnerability or stress resistance, as she thinks that the psychological factors form a crucial base from which to consider long term sequelae and plan ways of intervention and prevention. In order to place the South African situation in a context she looks at some of the descriptions of the traditionally described stressors of childhood, and then considers the more extreme stresses. Finally, she presents some of the research and ideas that are being formulated about the South African situation.

Diana Shmukler
03 Feb 1989
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