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eventREF E-0097298Revised

Event record

Political activist Mvulane Zacharia Bheki dies in detention

Updated
30 Sep 2019
Political activist Mvulane Zacharia Bheki dies in detention

Anti-Apartheid poster circa 1977 Image source

Bheki Zacharia Mvulane, an 18 year old political activist was arrested with eight others in February 1985. When he failed to appear in court along with the others on 7 March, his family grew concerned. They later found him unconscious in hospital. On 29 March, he died from head injuries. It is not clear how Mvulane died. A man that was detained with him later recounted how Mvulane had been beaten and trampled on by the police until he lost consciousness. He was just one of the many detainees who mysteriously lost their lives behind bars.

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How we know this

  1. 01Sheppard, N. Junior, (1985), Detainees` Families Tell Tales of Terror, from Chicago Tribune News, 5 August [online], Available at articles.chicagotribune.com [Accessed: 10 March 2014]
  2. 02SAHO, Bheki Mvulane, from South African History Online [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 10 March 2014]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2014, March 28). Political activist Mvulane Zacharia Bheki dies in detention . South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097298

South African History Online (2014) 'Political activist Mvulane Zacharia Bheki dies in detention ', South African History Online, 28 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097298 (Accessed: 9 August 2026).

South African History Online, Political activist Mvulane Zacharia Bheki dies in detention [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097298, (accessed 9 August 2026).

"Political activist Mvulane Zacharia Bheki dies in detention ." South African History Online, 28 Mar. 2014, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097298. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Political activist Mvulane Zacharia Bheki dies in detention ." South African History Online. March 28, 2014. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097298.

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