2.1 Reactions to the sharpville incident  (Page 3/4)

Or hostile towards the police? – There was nothing indicating fighting.

You did not see any weapons carried by members of the crowd? – Not a single one.

At the time you were there at the Police Station amongst the crowd, did you notice any aeroplanes flying over?– Yes, they did. A few would come and thereafter a few again, and so forth.

Did they dive low over the crowd? – Yes, they did. There were youngsters that were throwing their hats at these aeroplanes – ‘Hoorah! Hoorah!’ – flinging their hats up.

And how did you interpret that gesture of throwing their hats into the air and shouting ‘Hoorah!’? – They were enjoying it.

When you went after the shooting to these bodies, did you see any clothing lying about on the ground – hats or shoes?” – There were a number of shoes and hats.

SOURCE H: EXTRACT OF LECHAEL MUSIBI’S EVIDENCE before the Court of Enquiry, Sharpeville shooting:

Examined by Mr. Kentridge:

You are the school teacher in Sharpeville, are you not? – Yes.

On that day, did the children come to school? – No, they did not come to school.

What did you hear from the people? – I heard that some of the Pan-African members had organised that the people should not go to work.

Now, some time after one o’clock did you leave your house? – Yes, I did leave my house when it was one, or just after one o’clock.

Where were you cycling to? – I was cycling to school, to go and fetch my books there.

At that time, as you got within hearing distance can you describe to me what the mood of the crowd was as you saw it? – The mood of the crowd, as I saw them, was very calm. They were just idling – as if they were anxious to get to the Police Station; that is the impression I got.

Did you hear any shouting? – No shouting.

Cross-examiniation by Mr Louw:

Did you hear much singing there? – Yes they were singing.

What were they singing? – Christian songs.

What other songs did they sing? – They were singing’Abide with Me’.

SOURCE I: Chief Albert Luthuli’s poster – appealing for a day of mourning.

CHIEF LUTHULI

Calls upon you to:

MOURN THE VICTIMS OF POLICE VIOLENCE.

PROTEST AGAINST POLICE KILLINGS.

PROTEST AT THE PASS LAWS

STAY AT HOME FOR ONE DAY MONDAY 28 TH MARCH 1960

(Sources D , E , G , H and I are quoted from: C. PEARCE and S. KARABATSOS REPRESENTATIONS OF 20 TH CENTURY HISTORY

Lo 2 the learner is able to demonstrate historical knowledge and understanding.

1 . Study Sources A and C. What was the cause of the Sharpeville incident?

2 . Study Sources G and H. What is the similarity in Maja’s and Musibi’s description of the mood of the crowd?

Lo 1the learner is able to use enquiry skills to investigate the past and present.

3 . Study Source A. What do you understand by ‘The shooting was universally condemned’? Motivate your answer with evidence from the source.

4 . Study Source C. Explain why the post mortem proved that the dead had bullet wounds in their backs. Is it an indication that they were running towards or away from the police?

5 . Were Mr Maja and Mr Musibi in a good position to describe the mood of the crowd? Motivate your answer with evidence from the sources.