The Cillie Commission of Inquiry into the Soweto uprisings, holds its first public hearing

Date: 13 Sep 1976
Updated: 20 Jul 2026

The government appointed Cillié Commission of Inquiry into the uprisings in Soweto on 16 June, 1976, held its first public hearing in Johannesburg. Evidence was taken on the extent of the damage and of casualties. The commission later put the death toll at 575 and blamed the police for 451 of those deaths. It also concluded that 2,389 people were injured during the uprisings between June 16, 1976, and Feb. 28, 1977.

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01Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds) (1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood
02sahistory,' Youth and the national liberation struggle ',[online],Available at www.sahisory.ac.za[Accessed: 12 September 2013]

Last updated · 20 Jul 2026

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). The Cillie Commission of Inquiry into the Soweto uprisings, holds its first public hearing. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012288

South African History Online (2011) 'The Cillie Commission of Inquiry into the Soweto uprisings, holds its first public hearing', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012288 (Accessed: 25 July 2026).

South African History Online, The Cillie Commission of Inquiry into the Soweto uprisings, holds its first public hearing [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012288, (accessed 25 July 2026).

"The Cillie Commission of Inquiry into the Soweto uprisings, holds its first public hearing." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012288. Accessed 25 July 2026.

South African History Online. "The Cillie Commission of Inquiry into the Soweto uprisings, holds its first public hearing." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012288.