Popular South African music star for the last 40 years, Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse has vivid memories of 16 June, 1976.

June 13, 2006

WHEN they went on tour to neighbourng countries in 1976, Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse, and his band The Beaters, used their drums and amplifier cases as secret vehicles of transport for youngsters going into exile.

Being a musician, says Mabuse, actually helped him survive the year that changed the course of the country's history. "My profile as a musician made it difficult to assess my position."

Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse, top South African musician for 40 years

He clearly remembers when he was stopped by the police, the day after the student uprising of 16 June. He was carrying his flute and the police thought it was a gun. The cop hit him with his truncheon, but the another cop saved him, by saying: "Los him, hy's 'n musikant."

Mabuse says the police were "just as fearful as everybody else was". He recounts an incident with a policeman, who was surrounded by a group of around 200 angry people. "They ordered him to take off his hat." He did as he was told – took off his cap and handed it over. The crowd let him go, minus his cap. "They then took the cap and burnt it." The loss of his cap, says Mabuse, was symbolic of his loss of status.

Born in Soweto in 1951, Mabuse grew up and still lives there. He started playing drums at the age of eight, and by 15 was a professional musician. He has performed in almost every southern African country, and has toured the US, the UK, France, Germany and Italy. He is comfortable on the drums, sax and flute, the flute being his favourite instrument.

He has a broad range of musical styles - dance, reggae, jazz, mbaqanga, kwela and gospel – and has collaborated with Gloria Bosman, Jimmy Dludlu, Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba.

The day of 16 June
Mabuse remembers 16 June well. He was 25 years old at the time and already established as a musician. On the day he had gone to collect his laundry from an old woman near the Orlando West High School. "I was exposed to a groundswell of people singing and chanting."
Intrigued, he hung around, then saw the kwela-kwela – the police. He followed the police vans, and heard them telling the crowds to disperse in five minutes. The crowd were positioned on the hilltop in Vilakazi Street, says Mabuse, and they then moved towards the police, surrounding them.

"They charged towards the police, who were taken by surprise – here were people taking them on." That's when the firing started, says Mabuse.

He remembers his brother's friend had a red BMW, and they used it to ferry learners to hospital. "We lost count of how many we took to hospital."

Mabuse says he and his family were not harassed by the police, although that didn't mean they were not politically aware.

His parents were active members of the ANC in the 1960s, participating in rallies and pass burnings. He and his peers interacted with conscientised university students. "We were very much aware of the Pan Africanist Congress and Black Consciousness movements."

When the band toured Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana, they came across exiles, the young men and women who had fled South Africa after the uprising, often as a result of police harassment.

They decided to change the name of the band to Harare, after Zimbabwean independence in 1980, when the capital Salisbury's name was changed. His band existed for 20 years before professional jealousies got in the way.

"We began as friends and went through hard times together, pursuing the same goals, but we outlived ourselves," he says.

Mabuse sees 16 June as a major victory for black people in South Africa. "Most people were fearful of the system - the Nationalist government had cowed them into submission."

Today, Mabuse's memories come full circle. He has been asked to write music for the 30th anniversary events, and for documentaries on 16 June. He is guided by making the music "as real as possible", reflecting how he felt at the time when the shooting started.