The Heidelberg Tavern massacre occurred in

Observatory, Cape Town Observatory is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, colloquially known as Obs. Bordered by Mowbray to the south and Salt River to the northwest, the area is best known as a student neighbourhood associated with the nearby University of Cape T ...

on 30 December 1993. Three

Azanian People's Liberation Army The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks on ...

(APLA) terrorists entered the Heidelberg Tavern and opened fire on the crowd, killing four students and the owner of an adjacent restaurant who went outside to investigate the sounds of gunfire. An unexploded bomb (with nails strapped to it) was found in the restaurant, close to the main entrance.

Massacre

During the years of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, Observatory was one of the few ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' "grey" suburbs where all races lived together. On the evening of 30 December 1993, three men entered a popular student venue on Station Road, called the Heidelberg Tavern and opened fire, killing four people and injuring five. The three APLA operatives – Humphrey Luyanda Gqomfa, Vuyisile Brian Madasi and Zola Prince Mabala – were convicted in November 1994 for what became known as the Heidelberg Massacre. On 16 July 1998, the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

granted the three amnesty.

Victims

Killed: Bernadette Sharon Langford Lindy-Anne Fourie Rolande Lucielle Palm Nosolino Cequeira Injured: Benjamin Joseph Broude Quintin Cornelius Dave Deglon Justin Julian Fouche Michael January

References

{{Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa) Conflicts in 1993 1993 in South Africa Mass murder in 1993 December 1993 events in Africa December 1993 crimes Massacres in 1993 Events associated with apartheid Terrorist incidents in South Africa Terrorist incidents in South Africa in the 1990s Terrorist incidents in Africa in 1993 Azanian People's Liberation Army 1993 murders in South Africa Attacks on restaurants in Africa Attacks on bars Student massacres 1990s massacres in South Africa Observatory, Cape Town

Massacre

Victims

See also

References