Griffiths Mxenge

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge [ mˈǁɛŋɛ ] (born February 27, 1935 in King William's Town , † November 19, 1981 in Umlazi ) was a South African human rights activist . He was murdered in 1981 by members of the secret police unit Vlakplaas , as was his wife Victoria Mxenge four years later.

Life

Mxenge studied law at Fort Hare University . During his studies he joined the African National Congress (ANC). He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Law from the University of Natal and worked as a lawyer in Durban . He was involved in issues of human rights; in particular, he defended numerous people who had come into conflict with the repressive laws of apartheid . Mxenge was banned several times . In 1966 he was sentenced to prison and taken to Robben Island prison. After his release, around 1977 a wheel of his car came loose while driving after several white men tampered with the wheel nuts.

Mxenge was kidnapped from his home in Durban on November 19, 1981 by secret police from the Vlakplaas covert operation unit around the then commander Dirk Coetzee and killed near the Umlazi Stadium . According to Coetzee, the crime was due to a request from senior policeman Jan van der Hoven from the Port Natal Security Police . While Coetzee stayed in the background, Almond Nofemela, David Tshikalanga, Joe Mamasela and Brian Ngqulunga carried out the actual act. In order to make her appear like a robbery , Mxenge was not shot, but rather beaten with a cross key and killed by 40 knife wounds. He was buried in the village of Rayi between King William's Town and Peddie .

aftermath

Ngqulunga was killed shortly after the murder on behalf of Vlakplaas because he was considered a possible traitor. In 1985 Mxenges wife Victoria was also murdered by Vlakplaas police. The murders of the couple were tried before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from 1995 . Coetzee, who had already gone public with information about Vlakplaas in 1989 , was granted amnesty for the murder of Griffith Mxenge. Nofemela and Tshikalanga were also given amnesties. A court in KwaZulu-Natal had previously found them guilty of murder on August 4, 1997, but were released because of the amnesty granted three days later.

Like his wife, Mxenge was posthumously awarded the Order of Luthuli in silver in 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Curriculum Vitae Mxenges at saha.org.za (English), accessed on July 10, 2012
  2. ↑ middle of nothing . In: Der Spiegel . No. 4 , 1978 ( online ).
  3. ↑ Coetzee's statements on Mxenge's murder , accessed on July 10, 2012
  4. ↑ Sights in and around King William's Town ( Memento from December 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English, PDF), accessed on October 17, 2014
  5. ↑ Coetzee's statements on Mxenge's murder , accessed on July 10, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Mxenge, Griffiths
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mxenge, Griffiths Mlungisi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African anti-apartheid activist and murder victim
DATE OF BIRTH February 27, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH King William's Town
DATE OF DEATH 19th November 1981
Place of death Umlazi