Steve Biko dies in police custody

An estimated 200,000 Coloured workers stayed away on 15 and 16 September, linking worker action to the expanding youth revolt.

Renewed confrontation showed that the June uprising had developed into a sustained challenge involving schools, workers and township communities.

Nine Black Consciousness activists were convicted after a lengthy political trial; six received six-year terms and three received five-year terms on Robben Island.

Security police re-arrested Biko under apartheid security laws as the state intensified repression of Black Consciousness after the 1976 uprising.

Biko was detained at a roadblock while travelling despite his banning order. He was taken into security police custody and interrogated.

The funeral at King William's Town became a mass political gathering attended by mourners, diplomats and liberation activists.

The government banned Black Consciousness bodies and other organizations, closed The World and Weekend World, and restricted prominent activists and journalists.

South African airborne forces attacked a SWAPO refugee and transit camp at Cassinga, killing hundreds. The raid became a major symbol of regional resistance to apartheid military power.

Botha replaced John Vorster and developed a strategy combining limited constitutional reform with military and security repression.

The apartheid state hanged the young MK combatant despite a major international campaign for clemency. His final message became a rallying cry for resistance.