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Top 10 Little Known Facts about Hector Pieterson

Hector Pieterson Memorial, Soweto,  South Africa by Bernard Gagnon/

Hector Pieterson was born in 1963. He became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto uprising in apartheid South Africa.

Hector was one of the first casualties of the 1976 uprising against the sole use of the Afrikaans language in schools.

Hector Pieterson was a 12-year-old black schoolchild who was shot by police in Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976.

Hundreds of students joined the protest march planned by the South African Student Movement SASM.

Black children in South Africa were imprisoned, tortured, and killed because they protested against being treated badly only because they were black.

1. The exquisite Hector Pieterson Museum opened in 2002 not far from where he was shot

Hector Pieterson Memorial in Soweto by Unknown Arthur/

The Hector Pieterson Memorial and museum opened in Soweto in 2002, not far from the spot where 12-year-old Hector was shot on 16 June 1976.

The Soweto uprising today is a symbol of resistance to the brutality of the apartheid government.

Soweto, a city developed as a township for black people during apartheid, lies south of Johannesburg.

Its residents number some two million people with homes that range from shacks to extravagant mansions.

Hector Pieterson has become something of an iconic image of the fateful day, mostly due to a photograph published across the globe by Sam Nzima.

Photographer at the time for The World newspaper in Johannesburg, the Hector Pieterson Memorial Site is included on any number of tours through the area.

2. Sam Nzima took the famous photo of Hector’s body carried after a shooting

A photo by Sam Nzima is displayed on Hector’s memorial outside the Hector Pieterson Museum in Orlando West, Soweto.

Mbuyisa Makhubo is carrying the dying Hector and Hector’s sister, Antoinette, is running beside him.

Mbuyisa Makhubo was at the time a train pedlar of about 18 years old who had been observing or maybe participating in, the uprising.

1996 Hector Pieterson’s sister, Antoinette Sithole, and Sam Nzima appeared as witnesses before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Antoinette testified to the interrogator, Ms. Sooka, that when she arrived at the protest the police were already there throwing tear gas at the schoolchildren.

3. The interesting Soweto uprising children mobilized to demonstrate the governments directive

The June 16 1976 Uprising that began in Soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the socio-political landscape in South Africa.

Events that triggered the uprising can be traced back to policies of the Apartheid government that resulted in the introduction of the Bantu Education Act in 1953.

On 16 June 1976 between 3000 and 10 000 students were mobilized by the South African Students Movement’s Action Committee supported by the BCM.

The students were marching peacefully to demonstrate and protest against the government’s directive.

On their pathway, they were met by heavily armed police who fired teargas and later live ammunition on demonstrating students.

The aftermath of the events of June 16 1976 had dire consequences for the Apartheid government.

4. The astonishing Antoinette Sithole was the young woman in Nzima’s photo 

Antoinette Sithole by Harvey Barrison/

His eldest sister Antoinette Sithole believes that his memory is not honored as it should be, Antoinette has since the 1990s worked at the Hector Pieterson Museum in Orlando West.

She is the young woman also in Sam Nzima’s famous picture, where her brother is carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo.

The picture of a young Hector Pieterson being carried after he was shot during anti-apartheid demonstrations at the Soweto Uprising in 1976 is one that should be known by all South Africans.

Antoinette organized a stationery donation for Kholwani Primary School in Jabulani which has over 980 learners and she plans to do more.

5. Makhubu is the famous student who carried Hector’s body he disappeared 

Makhubu famously carried a dying Hector Pieterson during the 16 June Soweto Uprising, a moment captured for posterity by photographer Sam Nzima.

As a result, Makhubu became the most wanted man in Soweto and fled into exile where he disappeared two years later.

For nearly four decades, Makhubu’s family has been wondering about what happened to him.

He disappeared in Nigeria in 1979 and speculation has swirled about whether he’s dead or alive.

Three years ago, it emerged that a prisoner in detention in Canada may be Makhubu, but attempts to confirm a match have now stalled.

6. During the uprising Hector was not the only one killed astonishingly another student Ndlovu died

Another student, Hastings Ndlovu, is believed to have been the first to be shot by police on that fateful day.

Approximately 566 schoolchildren were killed during the protests. June 16 has been observed as a public holiday in South Africa called Youth Day since 1994.

Despite the peaceful nature of the march, the confrontation turned violent and was here that several students, including Hector Pieterson, were shot and killed.

After Pieterson was shot, 18-year-old Mbuyisa Makhubo picked him up. A newspaper photographer named Sam Nzima took a picture of Pieterson being carried away in the arms of Makhubo.

7. Remarkably Hector was born and raised in Soweto he is the only male child 

Hector Pieterson Museum by Bernard Gagnon/

Hector Pieterson was born to Vivian Pieterson and Dorothy Molefi in 1963. He was born and raised in Soweto, South Africa.

Although Hector was his mother’s only male child, he had four stepsisters, including Antoinette Sithole and Sina Molefi.

According to the mother, Hector was a lovely boy whose smile brought joy to her heart with his tease and cleverness.

He attended the same school as his stepsister, Antoinette. Whatever dream he had about his education was cut short during a student-organized protest in 1976.

8. Every 16^th of June people gather at the amazing Pieterson block to celebrate Youth Day

It is because he lost his life while the youth were trying to express their displeasure in the early 90s.

Hector Pieterson’s memorial site was erected, a few blocks from where he was shot, in Orlando, Soweto.

Every 16^th day of June, people gather at the block on Youth Day in South Africa to mark the day.

Masana Sam Nzima, the man behind the coverage of the South Africa protest and the 1976 Soweto Uprising.

Nzima received accolades for being brave and taking risks to capture pictures during the event.

9. Astonishingly the U.S lawyer Ed Fagan led an action suit for apartheid-era victims

On 9 August 2002 U.S. lawyer Ed Fagan led a $50B class action suit by apartheid-era victims against international firms and banks who profited from dealings with the Apartheid regime.

Among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit was Dorothy Molefi, Pieterson’s mother. The South African government distanced itself from the lawsuit.

10. The famous Hector Pieterson was shot and carried by a fellow student during Soweto Uprising

The grave of Hector Pieterson at Avalon Cemetery by Andrew Hall/Wikimedia Commons

The police said that the bullet that led to Hector Pieterson’s death had hit the floor before bouncing off it to kill the boy.

The picture of a dying Hector carried by a fellow student was published around the world, it became famous in the history of South Africa.