September 12 marks the killing of one of South Africa’s greatest leaders‚ Bantu Stephen Biko‚ 40 years ago. On Tuesday a memorial service is being held at the Garden of Remembrance in Ginsberg‚ Eastern Cape‚ where Biko is buried and a procession will move from the grave to the nearby Steve Biko Centre for a public dialogue.
Here are five places to visit on the Biko Heritage Trail in the Eastern Cape:
* The Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg‚ where Biko grew up‚ is the start of the heritage trail. With a soaring design and facilities used by the community‚ like the children’s library‚ it beats like the heart of Ginsberg. The monument‚ particularly the museum‚ felt even more engaging than the Martin Luther King Jr historic site in Atlanta‚ US‚ which has a similar mission (Memory‚ Discovery‚ Action). A video of Biko being interviewed by a journalist – playing in the museum – is riveting and the wall of other deaths in detention is a grim reminder of the toll of the apartheid state.
* The dusty Garden of Remembrance‚ with a large tombstone honouring Biko‚ was established a few years ago and formally opened in March. The Buffalo City municipality upgraded the cemetery at the family’s request. They wanted all the graves to be cared for‚ not only Biko’s grave. An engraving of hands breaking chains and the words‚ “One Azania one nation‚” are on the tombstone. His sister Bukelwa‚ who died young in 1975‚ is buried there too.
* The official Biko Monument is at 688 Leightonville‚ the house of his remarkable mother Alice Nokuzola Biko where Biko grew up and lived when he was banned. Nelson Mandela formally opened and dedicated this monument in 1997 when he was president. A statue of Biko stands in the front garden and his bedroom‚ off the living room‚ has artefacts from his life. The Biko family still stay in the house when they go to Ginsberg.
* 15 Leopold Street‚ where Biko set up the Black Community Programmes when he was banned from 1973 to 1977‚ belonged to the church then and is now the Dumisani Theological Institute. Three stained glass windows cast light over the corner where Biko would have worked.
* The Victoria Stadium in King William’s Town‚ near the railway station where trains no longer stop and the Buffalo River is stagnant‚ is a sombre space. This stadium has seen too many mass funerals for political heroes and massacre victims‚ like those in Bisho. The stadium is where thousands of people gathered to honour Biko and ignite against the apartheid state.
* The full heritage tour also includes the Biko statue and bridge in East London and the Zanempilo Clinic in Zinyoka‚ which was started by Biko and Dr Mamphela Ramphele.
By: Claire Keeton -TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.
