Mbuyisa Makhubu (born 1957 or 1958) is a South African anti-Apartheid activist who disappeared in 1979.[2] He rose to prominence after he was seen carryingHector Pieterson in a photograph taken bySam Nzima after Pieterson was shot during theSoweto Uprising in 1976.[3] Despite the photograph's endurance, little is known about Makhubu.[4]
After the photograph was released, Makhubu was harassed by the security services, and was forced to fleeSouth Africa. His mother, Nombulelo Makhubu, told theTruth and Reconciliation Commission that she received a letter from him fromNigeria in 1978, but that she had not heard from him since.[5] She died in 2004, seemingly without knowledge of what had happened to her son.[6] Mbuyisa was one of a number ofSouth African activists given refuge in Nigeria immediately following the Soweto incident. He was one of three who were settled in a boarding high school in South-WesternNigeria - Federal Government College, during the 1976–1977 academic year. But all failed to settle, and had moved on within the year.[7]
In 2013, claims emerged that a man, Victor Vinnetou, imprisoned in Canada for the previous eight years on immigration charges was Makhubu.[8] Genetic tests were conducted to determine whether he was indeed Mbuyisa Makhubo.[9] It was later reported that the DNA tests did not substantiate the man's claim to be Makhubu, to the disappointment of Makhubu's family,[7] though the DNA test was reported to have been done on a family member without blood relations to both parents.[10]
As of 2020, his whereabouts still remain unknown.[11][2] The same year, a four-episode documentary titledThrough The Cracks, which was released on the 44th anniversary of the uprising on 16 June 2020, provided some previously untold details about Makhubu's life.[4] It was also reported that a heritage plaque commemorating Makhubu would be installed on 16 June 2020, as well.[2]
Further reading
edit- Davie, Lucille. "Hector Pieterson Gets His Memorial."City Of Johannesburg Official Website
- Davie, Lucille. "The Day Hector Pieterson Died."SA Web Directory[usurped]
References
edit- ^Mafika (16 June 2014)."Hector's sister tells the story still, 38 years later".Brand South Africa. Retrieved11 November 2020.
- ^abc"Disappeared June 16 victim Mbuyisa Makhubu to be honoured | The Heritage Portal".www.theheritageportal.co.za. Retrieved11 November 2020.
- ^Khangale, Ndivhuwo (2005)."Mystery around June 16 icon lingers on".IOL news. Retrieved19 June 2013.
- ^ab"FROM THE ARCHIVES: Through The Cracks, the untold story of Mbuyisa Makhubu".ewn.co.za. Retrieved11 November 2020.
- ^"Finding Mbuyisa Makhubu, the June 16 1976 hero".The Mail & Guardian. 12 June 2014. Retrieved11 November 2020.
- ^"The Curious Tale of Victor Vinnetou » AFRICA IS a COUNTRY". Archived fromthe original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved11 November 2014.
- ^abEyewitness News (27 September 2013)."Makhubu family wants more DNA tests". Retrieved15 March 2016.
- ^"Spotlight on Makhubo's DNA tests ahead of Youth Day". Archived fromthe original on 15 June 2014. Retrieved16 June 2014.
- ^"Archived copy".The Citizen. Archived fromthe original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved16 June 2014.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"Freed from Canadian detention, South African man left in limbo". Retrieved1 April 2018.
- ^"Letter: It's time for us to accept that June 16 hero Mbuyisa Makhubu is dead".www.iol.co.za. Retrieved11 November 2020.
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