On this day: Steve Bantu Biko would have turned 73 years old

- Steve Bantu Biko was born on 18 December, 1946

- The anti-apartheid icon pioneered the Black Consciousness philosophy

- He was brutally murdered while in police custody in 1977

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Steve Biko would have turned 73 years old today. The pioneer of the Black Consciousness philosophy was born in King William's Town, Eastern Cape in 1946. He was detained and arrested several times for his stance against the apartheid state.

The late Steve Biko is remembered for his unshaken stance against apartheid which inspired hope of freedom among millions around the world.

Biko was introduced to politics when he was very young. His older brother, Khaya, a student at Lovedale High School, was arrested as a suspected Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) member.

The young man was jailed for three months. This led Biko to become one of the University of Natal's Black Campus Student Representative Council (SRC) members who formed the South African Student Organisation (SASO) in 1968.

In 1974, nine activists were accused of terrorism. These activists were members of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). Biko was seen as the pioneer of this movement and was arrested on 18 August, 1977 in Port Elizabeth.

The accusations against him included writing pamphlets that incited unrest. Biko was badly beaten while in custody. He was then driven to Pretoria, where he was thrown into a cell.

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He died on 12 September, 1977 after succumbing to his injuries, shackled and naked on the filthy floor of a police hospital.

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Source: Briefly News