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#OTD on 6 September in 1966, Dimitri Tsafendas assassinated Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and the man known as the architect of Apartheid, in Parliament in Cape Town. (1/8)
“Every day, you see a man you know committing a very serious crime for which millions of people suffer. You cannot take him to court or report him to the police because he is the law in the country. Would you remain silent and let him continue with his crime... (2/8)
...or would you do something to stop him? You are guilty not only when you commit a crime, but also when you do nothing to prevent it when you have the chance." Tsafendas to two priests who visited him years after killing Verwoerd. (3/8)
In 1964, Dimitri applied to have himself reclassified as Coloured. He was in love with Helen but because he was classified white and she was classified Coloured, they would not be allowed to marry under Apartheid laws. His application was rejected. (4/8) #AColouredTapestry
Dimitri had lived on the fringes of white South African society for most of his live and his application for reclassification as a Coloured person was not unusual. At the time of the assassination, he was lodging with the O'Ryans, a Coloured family. (5/8)
At his trial, Dimitri was found not guilty by reason of insanity and he was made a ward of the State; detained "at the pleasure of the State President". Dimitri was subjected to torture and inhumane treatment for most of his imprisonment. (6/8)
He was jailed at various points on Robben Island, and at Pretoria Central and Zonderwater Prisons before finally being transferred to Sterkfontein psychiatric hospital. With his death in 1999, only about 10 people attended his funeral. (7/8)
The democratically elected ANC government did not acknowledge Dimitri Tsafendas’s role in the fight against Apartheid and his remains are buried in an unmarked grave. (8/8)
