Sharpeville families challenge apartheid indemnity law after 66 years

Survivors and relatives of people killed or injured in the 1960 Sharpeville massacre have taken their case for redress to South Africa’s Gauteng High Court, 66 years after police opened fire on anti-apartheid protesters.

Lawyers for Human Rights is challenging the Indemnity Act 61 of 1961, an apartheid-era law that applicants say blocked civil and criminal proceedings arising from the massacre. The organisation is seeking a declaration that the Act is unconstitutional and invalid, along with certification of a class action.

The proposed class action would involve survivors who were shot and dependants of those killed. More than 70 survivors and relatives have expressed support for or interest in the litigation, according to Lawyers for Human Rights. If the court grants constitutional relief and certifies the class, individual damages claims could follow.

The official apartheid-era record recorded 69 deaths and 180 injuries. Research published in 2024 using police records suggested that as many as 91 people may have been killed and 238 injured, figures also cited by the applicants’ lawyers. The final toll remains disputed.

Sharpeville is commemorated through South Africa’s Human Rights Day, and the country’s democratic Constitution was signed there in 1996. Lawyers for Human Rights says 51 survivors received reparations through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process.

The court has not ruled on the Act’s constitutionality, class-action certification or government liability. Government respondents will have an opportunity to respond, but there is no clear timetable for the proceedings.