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Today In History
18 August 1977 – Steve Biko and his friend and political activist, Peter Jones are arrested at a security police roadblock between Grahamstown and King Williams Town. They were returning from Cape Town after a failed bid to meet Neville Alexander, former Robben Island prisoner and banned leader of the Unity Movement. The arrest would be his last.
Shortly after their arrest the colonel in charge ordered that the roadblock be cleared. The two friends were separated. Biko was taken to Walmer Police Station in Port Elizabeth, over 100km away from King Williams Town. Jones was taken to Algoa Police Station, also in Port Elizabeth.
Biko was kept in a police cell, cuffed and naked for many days while being interrogated and tortured before he was transferred to the notorious Sanlam Building where the horror of torture and humiliation continued. Peter Jones was kept in solitary confinement for eighteen months and only learnt of Biko’s death on 12 September 1977 only after his release.
Steve has been a banned person since 1973. He was restricted to the King Williams Town district. So his decision to travel to Cape Town was breaking his banning order. But he was determined to defy the restrictions.
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