S. Africa Curbs Movements of 2 Black Activists

The government today imposed five-year “banning” orders on the two most influential black activists in the troubled eastern Cape province.

The banning orders were served on Henry Fazzie, regional vice president of the United Democratic Front anti-apartheid coalition, and Mkhuseli Jack, president of the Port Elizabeth Youth Congress.

The orders, signed by Minister of Law and Order Louis le Grange, said the men “pose a threat to the maintenance of law and order.”

The bannings restrict Fazzie and Jack to the Port Elizabeth district, confine them to their homes on weekends and holidays and require them to stay at home from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. during the week. They also are barred from attending any political gatherings and from disseminating political information.

Banning Orders Expire

The banning orders came four days after the government lifted the seven-month-long state of emergency imposed in much of South Africa because of violent protests against apartheid, the country’s legal system of racial segregation. During the state of emergency, the government imposed about 70 limited banning orders that expired when the decree was lifted.

About a dozen people are still banned, including Winnie Mandela, wife of jailed black leader Nelson Mandela.

Fazzie and Jack were influential in negotiating a suspension of the black consumer boycott of white-owned stores in Port Elizabeth in December. The boycotters set a March 31 deadline for several demands, including the release of jailed activists and removal of troops from black townships in the region.

Boycott Likely to Resume

The United Democratic Front said the bannings meant the boycott is more likely to resume.

Andrew Savage, a member of Parliament for the Progressive Federal Party, said of the banning orders: “Both of these people have the status of national figures, and represent genuine leadership among the majority section of our community. An action like this banning can only be regarded as provocative in the extreme.”

Also today, in the black township of Kabokweni, in eastern Transvaal province, police said one man was killed and 13 people were wounded after police fired shotguns to break up a crowd of more than 3,000 blacks who gathered to support eight youths facing criminal charges because of a riot last month.