Mapetla Mohapi

Mohapi joined the South African Students' Organisation and the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) while he was studying at Turfloop. His first detainment came in October 1974 after SASO leaders celebrated the independence of Mozambique. He was released in April 1975 after spending 164 days without having been charged. During the Human Rights Violations Hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa held in East London on 15 April 1996, his wife stated that it took the family months to find out where he was detained and she was there for a week before they allowed her to see him for two minutes. Mohapi was also elected permanent secretary of SASO and also worked as director of Zimele Trust which was an organisation that took care of ex-political prisoners and their families. In September 1975, he was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act and confined to the areas of King William's Town and Zwelitsha.

Two days before his death, he managed to smuggle a note on a strip of toilet paper to his wife Nonhle, assuring her of his ability to cope. An inquest held later found that the note was forged but no one could be held responsible for the death of Mohapi. His wife sued the police Minister with claims that the authorities staged his death. A hired handwriting expert determined that Mohapi’s signature was forged but no charges were filed. Steve Biko’s letter to the principal magistrate regarding the death of Mohapi was written on 12 January 1977. It reads:

Mapetla Mohapi was a member of the Black Consciousness Movement, who died in detention during Apartheid in 1976.

On 16 July 1976, Mohapi was detained under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, making him the first to be detained under that section. He was suspected of involvement in transporting youngsters across the border to Botswana for military training. On 5 August 1976, Mohapi was found with a pair of jeans tied around his neck which hung from the bars in his cell. Police produced a suicide note addressed to Captain Schoeman, claiming Mohapi had committed suicide in his cell. The letter read:

Mohapi was born in the rural village of Jozanashoek in Sterkspruit (former Transkei) on 2 September 1947. He obtained a degree in Social Work from the University of the North – Turfloop. Mohapi met Nobuhle (Nohle) Haya in 1971 and they got married in 1973, with their first child Motheba being born in 1974 and the second, Konehali, in 1975.