The Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 was a law of the South African Apartheid regime that was put in place to respond to violent resistance from people, groups and officials that the apartheid regime opposed. It categorized participation in any form of terrorist activity as a capital crime. The act was repealed with the implementation of the Internal Security Act of 1982; however, Section 7 remained in effect.
The act was originally put in place due to a form of modern terrorism being developed during the apartheid period. Terrorism was occurring due to activities of the state and because of liberation movements that were happening at the time. The acts stated purpose was to assist the government in combating terrorism; however, it was instead used by law enforcement to target and prosecute various organizations and individuals who had opposed state control. The Apartheid government used anti-terrorism laws to target those who opposed the regime. For instance, the government detained hundreds of members of the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO), a former independence movement in South West Africa. The enforcement of the act allocated security forces a large amount of control, and many individuals detained by police during this period had reported excessive use of force. At least 15 people died while in detainment during the first few years.
Structure
The Terrorism Act of 1967 comprises ten sections, each addressing specific categories: Definitions; The Meaning of Terrorism; Harboring, Concealing, or Assisting Terrorists; Jurisdiction and venue; Trial Procedures for Offenses under the act; Detention of Terrorists and Other Persons for Interrogation; the Legal Process in criminal proceedings; Trial initiation by the Attorney General or Acting Attorney General; Commencement and Application of the Act; and Short title.
Section 1: This section of the Act provides essential definitions needed to understand the document including terms such as "commissioner", "minister", and "republic". The poem 'In Detention' was written by Chris van Wyk as a protest to the seemingly unexplainable deaths at the John Vorster Square, supposedly at the hands of police brutality.
Section 7: This section ensured that when someone was arrested and brought to trial, the judiciary retained some degree of oversight, preventing security forces from having complete control. This section is still enacted.