The Third Day of September

Abstract

When a 20-year-old unemployed black wrote a sympathetic eye-witness report of the September riots, the first reaction of the South African authorities was to confiscate and ban it Johannes Rantete — aged 20, son of a factory worker, matriculated, unemployed, wishing to go on to university but lacking the funds to do so — is, in his own phrase, a ‘born newsman'. When Sebokeng, like Sharpeville, Evaton, Katlehong, Soweto and other Vaal Triangle townships, blew up in early September 1984, Rantete got on his bicycle (decorated in ‘Rasta’ colours) and collected material for an eye-witness account of the turmoil. His account, published as The Third Day of September, includes a powerful statement of the community's viewpoint as he perceives it. In early September Ravan Press was already preparing a new publishing vehicle, the Storyteller Series, in order to stimulate writing and reading at a more popular level than had so far been achieved with Staffrider magazine and the Staffrider Series of books. Rantete's MS started to reach Ravan in chunks immediately after the events he describes took place, and was completed — together with a set of colour photographs — by 14 September. Over the following month Ravan edited and put the MS into production, while Rantete wrote extra sections to keep pace with events. The Third Day of September was published on 14 October, and distribution began immediately, particularly in Sebokeng itself. But distribution was hampered by intense police activity, following ‘Operation Palmiet’ on 23 October when 7,000 police and soldiers carried out a house-to-house search in Sebokeng, and forced all residents to pass through police checkpoints. In mid-November Ravan received reports that copies of Rantete's book had been confiscated by the police, who would hold them until they had checked with the Publications Directorate as to whether the book was banned. On 23 November Johannes Rantete was detained under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act, 1982. Security police then visited Ravan Press and demanded the photographs which Rantete had delivered with the MS, and which were the basis of the black-and-white sketches which illustrate the book. But, because of their documentary interest, the photos had meanwhile been posted to another Ravan Press author, working on an illustrated history of South Africa since 1976. They never arrived. In a telephone conversation with Ravan Press, a Captain Kruger of the Security Police stated that until the photos were recovered the interrogation of Rantete could not begin. Ravan managed to obtain a photostat set of the photographs and issued this to the police. Rantete was released on 14 December: he had been held in isolation and questioned, but not otherwise ill-treated. Meanwhile on 7 December The Third Day of September was banned. Ravan Press decided to lodge an appeal to the Publications Board, and to apply for a suspension of the ban pending appeal. The application, which was drawn up by Gilbert Marcus of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Witwatersrand (author of ‘Blacks Treated More Severely’, Index on Censorship 6/1984) was heard by Professor Van Rooyen, Chairman of the Appeal Board, on 19 December and a suspension was granted. On 3 January the appeal was successful. Distribution of the book resumed. It went well in the city bookshops because of media attention. But distribution continued to be difficult in Sebokeng itself: the police had succeeded in intimidating both distributors and readership. We publish here the first part of The Third Day of September.