Statement by the President of the Security Personnel Party of South Africa on the 50Th Anniversary of the 16 June 1976 Youth Uprising

Sello Shulas Mashula
President Security Personnel Party of South Africa [SPPSA]

By Sello Shulas Mashula
President Security Personnel Party of South Africa [SPPSA]

Fellow South Africans, Comrades, and especially the Youth of our Nation,

Today we commemorate 50 years since 16 June 1976.

Half a century has passed since our young brothers and sisters rose against the brutality of the Apartheid government.

They rejected an education system designed to keep them oppressed.

They marched with courage, paid with their blood, and laid the foundation for the freedom we enjoy today.

On behalf of the Security Personnel Party of South Africa, I salute their bravery.

Their sacrifice must never be forgotten.

As we mark 50 years since that uprising, we must ask ourselves: Did the youth of 1976 die in vain? Free and quality education was one of their core demands.

For many of our children in the townships, that demand remains unmet.

To the youth of today, I say: multiply the efforts and the fight of the 1976 generation.

Just as they rose against oppression then, you must rise now against the injustices facing our communities.

Let us secure our future.

We condemn in the strongest terms the actions of the current Tshwane Municipal Government ActionSA, ANC, and EFF — for using municipal police to marginalise and demolish black-owned businesses in our townships.

In Mamelodi and across Tshwane, our people’s livelihoods and economic growth are being destroyed without assistance, support, or alternatives.

While foreign-owned businesses flourish under their watch, the Mayor poses for social media under the guise of “working”, yet allows our sports facilities to decay and our youth to suffer.

This is not the freedom our 1976 heroes died for.

Therefore, I urge all youth: Stand up this weekend. Register to vote.

Your vote is your voice, your power, your weapon. Let us remove the current Tshwane Government and elect leaders who truly care leaders who will protect black businesses, rebuild our townships, and deliver free and quality education for all.

The struggle continues. Amandla!