Langa Memorial

Uitenhage holds a special place in the history of resistance to apartheid, as it was here that 20 people were shot dead by police on 21 March 1985, the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre of 1960. The 1985 shooting took place just outside Langa township, and became known as the Lange Massacre. There was an international outcry following this incident and a Commission of Inquiry (Kannemeyer Commission) was immediately appointed to investigate the cause of the shooting. A year after the Langa massacre, a memorial tombstone to those who died was unveiled in the KwaNobuhle Cemetery. The tombstone was vandalised in June 1987 and re-erected in March 1994. This Heroes Monument marks the spot where the Police opened fire on a crowd of mourners on their way to a banned funeral.