On their arrival, the crowd were dispersed with sjamboks by police. More than 500 workers from Johannesburg boarded the 8am train to Kempton Park, singing and chanting, to attend the trial of the 47 workers, arrested in June. On their arrival, the huge crowd was dispersed with sjamboks by a combined force of several members of the South African Police, traffic officers who blocked their only escape route, and municipal police. At least 15 were injured. And the original 47 accused who were to appear were Inexplicably reduced to 27 when the trial-minus the trialists – was brought before the magistrate. The case was postponed.
More than 450 people have been arrested since June-plus another 100 yesterday morning on the East Rand, a fact communicated to the workers down the seven coaches they occupied as they sang their way east. They were joined by at least another 200 workers at Germiston station and preceded to Kempton Park Station without incident. The crowd, by now 700-strong, was walking to the court just over a kilometre away when they were confronted by a combined force of several members of the South African Police, traffic officers and municipal police who dispersed them. Those injured were treated at Kempton Park Clinic.
One of the injured people, 43-year-old Veronica Khoza, was on her way to the trial of her son, who was appearing on a charge of theft. Another, Jumaima Mia, 25, from Soweto had come ”to show solidarity with my comrades” when she was hit across the back and legs, she said. She also suffered bruises after falling as she ran away from the police. Mia has laid charges of assault The train rocked to a beat completely different to the usual clickety-clack as workers sang freedom songs in praise of their unions, the African National Congress, Swapo, the Sandinistas and their own strength. As the train sped eastward, industrial Johannesburg looked sleepy in comparison to the energy of the people who the coaches. Each coach was led by e1ected delegates, who saw to it that discipline was maintained.
A delegate from Soweto said: ”They can try to harass us, but they will fail because of our unity. That is why we are here.” The rhythm of the train was completely subsumed under the stamping feet as a rousing song rang out through the open windows. Dele· gates would interrupt the singing by holding up crossed fingers to explain the procedure, or to pass on the latest news. As the train drew closer to Kempton Park, various calls were made for discipline, even up to the issue of tickets. Those who did not have them were requested to buy them as soon as they could. The chanting was equally well organised, with people at both ends of the coach being given an opportunity to address the crowd, or to start a song. One of the speakers addressed one of the most burning issues in Soweto now, saying ‘‘Phantsi na maJackroll, phantsi!”- (which can be translated roughly as ‘down with the gang rapes of schoolgirls’). As one speaker finished, he called ”Over to you on the other side, comradesâ€.
The cry was then rolled down the length of the coach, like something tangible, till it reached the other end, where another comrade started up again. The train reached Germiston station, where a large group are waiting to board. They greeted each other with cries of ”Qina msebenzi,’qina!” (Be strong workers, be strong). The newcomers spread themselves into other coaches and the singing was picked up with renewed vigour. The usual train-patrollers – the confidence tricksters, fakers and other interesting characters – were absent. The train pulled into a quiet Kempton Park Station at 8.45 – just over half-an hour after leaving Johannesburg. The workers disembarked and, according to instructions, halted the singing and started moving en masse toward the court, taking care to stay off the main road according to plan so as not to disrupt the normal activities of the awakening Kempton Park. Hardly two blocks away from the court, between two construction sites on an empty street, the workers were confronted by a contigent of security forces, and dispersed with sjamboks and quirts.
A small group managed to trickle back to the court, where they were denied entrance until their lawyers intervened. Police refused anyone access to the court building, and many of the people milled around outside, fearful of another confrontation. Several injured people came in, and Yoliswa Pokela, one of those scheduled to appear, cried when she discovered that one of the injured was not even on the train and had nothing to do with the ”singing train trial”.
When the case appeared before the court, two policemen called out the names of those who would appear in three separate cases later this year. Only 27 names were on the list Sam Rikhotso was one who escaped prosecution, but he was not too happy about the turn of events. ”Why is the case against me being dropped?” he asked. ”Also, I have questions to ask the court want to know if I am guilty. ”Now I will carry on singing because am not proven guilty.” With the ”singing train” trial postponed, the workers filtered back to the station, where they boarded a train- and sang all the way back to Johannesburg.
*According to a spokesman for the SA Police, 20 people were arrested at the scene. Further comment was not available at the time of going to press. However an official source was quoted as saying police took action after the crowd had been given three warnings to disperse – Audrey Brown
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
