Scene Was Set for Explosive Situation

The scene was set. Anyone who has lived in South Africa knows how explosive that situation had already become. On the one side was the ever-growing crowd of Africans. On the other side was the South African police. Every African fears them, whether they are traffic police, ordinary constables or members of the dreaded Special Branch. Most policemen expect unquestioning deference from Africans.

The only action taken during that morning appears to have come not from the police but from two African leaders who urged the crowd to stay away from the fence around the perimeter of the compound in order not to damage it. Then Colonel Pienaar arrived in the compound. He appears to have realized that he had come into a dangerous situation and therefore made no attempt either to use methods of persuasion on the crowd or to attempt to discover what the crowd was waiting for. Instead, about a quarter of an hour after his arrival he gave the order for his men to fall in. A little later he said, "Load five rounds." But he said no more to any of his officers, or to the men. Later, Colonel Pienaar stated that he thought his order would frighten the crowd and that his men would understand that if they had to fire they would not fire more than five rounds.

During this time Colonel Spengler, then head of the Special Branch, was arresting three African leaders. He said subsequently that he was able to carry out his arrest because the crowd was not in a violent mood.

It is extremely difficult to know what happened next. Some of the crowd near the gate of the Police Station compound said later that they heard a shot. Some said that they heard a policeman say, "Fire". Others suddenly became aware that the police were firing in their midst. But all agreed that nearly everyone turned and ran away once they realized what was happening. Colonel Pienaar asserted that he did not give the order to fire. Moreover, he declared that he would not have fired in that situation. It was stated later that two white policemen opened fire and about 50 others followed suit, using service revolvers, rifles and sten guns.