Tsietsi Mashinini
Teboho Macdonald "Tsietsi" Mashinini (born January 27, 1957 in Central Western Jabavu , South Africa ; † summer 1990 in Conakry , Guinea ) was the idol and spiritual champion of the students in the uprising in Soweto against the introduction of Afrikaans as the general language of instruction on March 16. June 1976 in South Africa. Before the uprising, he had already stood out as a good debater .
Life
Mashinini attended Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto. One of his teachers was Abram Onkgopotse Tiro , a follower of the Black Consciousness Movement , which influenced him significantly. Mashinini became president of the Soweto Schools' Representative Council, which on June 13, 1976 decided to hold a protest march in Orlando , Soweto. Around 20,000 students took part. The police shot dead numerous students.
After the uprising, Mashinini fled into exile . He first lived in London and later in several African countries. In Liberia , he married Welma Campbell , Miss Liberia of 1977, from whom he was divorced after three years. Eventually he moved to Guinea, where he lived with Sonny Pillay , the former husband of the South African singer Miriam Makeba . He died in the summer of 1990 under unknown circumstances.
Mashinini's body was transferred to South Africa on August 4, 1990 and buried in Avalon Cemetery in Soweto . In 2011, the President of South Africa posthumously awarded him the Order of Luthuli in bronze.
Others
Better known as Mashinini in connection with the uprising in Soweto was Hector Pieterson , who was shot dead by police at the time.
Films about Mashinini
- Tsietsi - My Hero , documentary, South Africa 2006
Web links
- Article on the 30th anniversary of the uprising ( memento from June 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on the official website of Johannesburg (English)
- Teboho "Tsietsi" Macdonald Mashinini South African History Online (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biographical appreciation on the website of the South African President's Office (English), accessed on July 13, 2018
- ↑ Tsietsi - My hero in the dictionary of international films
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mashinini, Tsietsi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mashinini, Teboho Macdonald |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | South African student guide |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1957 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Central Western Jabavu , South Africa |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1990 |
| Place of death | Conakry , Guinea |