ANC flag raised at the funeral of John ‘Hennie’ Ferus

John ‘Hennie’ Ferus was a strong campaigner against racial oppression in South Africa, who died in a car crash the on Monday 20 April 1981. His funeral, in Worcester, was the first "political funeral" where ANC supporters openly raised the party flag without fear of recrimination. Ferus was detained for a year in 1962, and in 1964 he was charged with sabotage. He was later jailed on Robben Island for three years and two months for breaking his banning order and after his release was again placed under house arrest. In 1980 he was detained again. Ferus, who was 41, was also a member of the moderate Labour Party, whose leader, the Reverend Allen Hendrickse, withheld party participation in the 1981 general election, in which the National Party won another landslide victory. The scene of Ferus’ funeral service was the Worcester Community Hall, in the Cape Province. There was a large crowd of mourners and supporters of the African National Congress, which was at that time, still banned by the South African authorities. Members of Ferus' family were with him when his car crashed, but none of them were hurt.