Hero of 1976 riots may have been found
ONE OF the most enduring mysteries of apartheid South Africa is on the cusp of being solved.
A man resembling Mbuyisa Makhubu, the teenager forever known as the boy carrying the dying Hector Pieterson away from the 1976 Soweto riots, is being detained in a Canadian jail on immigration offences.
The Mercury can reveal today that a high-level initiative is being fast-tracked by Canadian authorities and senior officials of the Department of Arts and Culture to have the man’s DNA cross-checked against that of Makhubu’s surviving relatives in South Africa.
Makhubu, then 17, was immortalised by photographer Sam Nzima, who took the picture of him carrying the shot 13-year-old as Pieterson’s sister, Antoinette Sithole, runs alongside.
The moment the picture was published, the security police harassed Makhubu, forcing him to flee first to Botswana and later Nigeria.
Then he disappeared for 37 years. Many speculated that he might have died, but his body was never found.
Well-placed sources confirmed last night that the government had already sent a team to Canada, where the man was arrested eight years ago for contravening immigration laws.
The government is believed to be so certain the man is Makhubu that it has already prepared emergency travel documents pending the imminent outcome of the DNA tests.
“He is in a prison in Canada. They have looked at his picture that was taken then and what he looks like now. There is quite a resemblance. He has been in prison for eight years,” said the source.
It is understood the man in Canada was terribly affected by the trauma of apartheid South Africa. Despite being told that the ANC has been in power for almost 20 years, he is believed to be terrified of returning to his homeland because he believes the National Party regime is still in control.
“He’s still under the impression apartheid exists and is afraid to come back. He lived underground and has been through many countries and ended up in Canada,” the source added.
“As soon as DNA confirmation comes through, he will be back. They are preparing the travel documents to be sent to Canada for him to come back.”
It is believed the man told various people in Canada that he was Nigerian, then Zambian and later South African.
The Makhubu family confirmed last night that they had provided DNA samples to government officials to be tested against the man’s in Canada.