Sharpeville Six

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The Sharpeville Six were six South African protesters convicted of murder of Deputy Mayor of Sharpeville, Kuzwayo Jacob Dlamini, and sentenced to death.

On September 3, 1984 a protest march in Sharpeville turned into a riot and the Deputy Mayor was brutally murdered. Mojalefa Sefatsa, Theresa Ramashamola, Reid Mokoena, Oupa Diniso, Duma Khumalo and Francis Don Mokhesi were arrested in the following months, found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. Christian Mokubung and Gideon Mokone were also sentenced to eight years in prison.

The convictions were widely condemned by the international community as unlawful and racist. The pressure from abroad finally led to sentences being commuted to 18–25 years in prison.