This Day in History: November 16, 1984
Additional Date: November 16, 1984
Police arrested 2,300 people in the township of Sebokeng in the Vaal in what was believed to be the biggest raid against black people living in the townships and hostels. The arrest came at the height of unrest in the Vaal which broke out in September of the same year when the Vaal Civic Association organised a stay away, school boycott and protest marches. This led to clashes between police and township residents that left thirty people dead. By the end of the year almost 150 people had been killed in political violence, which increased to 600 by September 1985 as the revolts spread across the country and the government of P.W. Botha declared a State of Emergency.