S Africa marks 30th anniversary of Biko's death
South Africa marked the 30th anniversary today of the death of Steve Biko, the symbol of black resistance worldwide who was killed by apartheid police.
President Thabo Mbeki and other dignitaries were due to give speeches in his honour at events in the evening.
Biko, 30, died of a brain injury in a cell in Pretoria Central Prison on September 12, 1977, after being beaten and tortured by apartheid police.
Biko’s message of black pride appealed to many people in South Africa’s townships.
His death made him a martyr in the anti-apartheid movement and inspired films such as Cry Freedom, starring Denzel Washington and Peter Gabriel’s anthem Biko.
