Smangaliso Mkhatshwa

Smangaliso Mkhatshwa (b. 1939 image) is a Catholic priest who was persecuted by the South African apartheid state. He later became a member of the first post-apartheid parliament (1994) and then mayor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. He was succeeded as mayor in 2005 by Gwen Ramokgopa.

History

Mkhatshwa was arrested under the Internal Security Act after the Soweto uprisings (1976) and detained for four months. In 1977 he was served with a five-year banning order, which restricted his movements to the Pretoria magisterial district. In October 1983 he was arrested in the Ciskei region for subversion and inciting public violence, but released after a not guilty verdict in March 1984. In September 1986 he was arrested under emergency regulations in the Transkei region and tortured by security police (African National Congress n.d.).

He describes his torture as follows:

"I was once arrested by the security police of the apartheid regime. I was tortured for two full days and nights non-stop. I was stripped naked, I was handcuffed behind my back, my ankles were chained, I was blindfolded, I was beaten up, I was insulted, there was a gun that was shot above my own head, I suppose to scare me, I was spat at, all sorts of things were done, and of course electric shocks..." (ABC Radio National 2004).

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