MovieChat Forums > Cry Freedom (1987) Discussion > Arrest of Steve Biko

Arrest of Steve Biko

posted 12 years ago by rasheed_node
1 reply | jump to latest

I watched this fine movie twice and I found the event of the arrest of Steve Biko a little ambiguous and unexplained in the film.

1. What was in the boot of the car?

2. Why the policeman couldn't open it? He had the key, obviously?

3. If there was nothing objectionable in the boot of the car, why driver didn't say so to the policeman and didn't try helping the policeman to open the boot?

4. Wasn't Biko mortally afraid at the time of his arrest? Sure he knew he was caught 'red-handed', so to speak.

One more foolish sounding point.

5. Was the last arrest of Biko some sort of an act of bettrayal?! (Cannot rule out the possibility of one, looking at the general way of functioning of the S. African police, at that time. It 'purchased' witnesses, informers and may be 'useful' people of ever kind).

6. When I used the term 'at that time' in the above point no-5, I remembered that last month (August - 2012), the S. African police killed 34 black miners at one of the country's Platinum mine which I believe, is predominantly owned by Whites. On the top of that the S. African police has now accused the miners working here of killing their colleagues!

So, what has changed in S. Africa after the independence?! The police uniform COLOUR?!!!

[–] micktherraad 12 years ago

Some of these I can guess, some are based on my experiences in Southern Africa.

1- Probably items like posters, pamphlets and other "subsersive" materials. They mentioned at the begining of the film that they discovered "posters" of Biko at the township that was razed.

2- The driver (Phillip?) probably jimmied the boot to prevent such a thing from happening when the were stopped by the RSA police.

3- See above, which made the police even more suspicious.

4. I imagine he was, I know that the few times I was in RSA I was apprehensive during routine customs & security checks. I was once told that I would be arrested if the metal detector went off at the airport and I was a white american passing through to Botswana. Biko was an exceptionally courageous peron. Maybe he hoped that he would be put on public trial like before.

5- I lived in Botswana, and I can tell You that police/security checkpoints are EVERYWHERE! Once, during a 200km trip, I encountered 5 checkpoints. They were mostly looking for RSA gunrunner types on the way up to Zambia, but the fact that I was white arroused suspicion. Fortunately after checking my particulars (eg passport, work permits for Botswana) i was immediately released. However, Botswana is a peaceful country and was a trade partner with RSA. Within RSA herself, it was a vastly more.... paranoid situation, and there would be police checkpoints everywhere. This is above and beyond the police informants that intefcted every "illegal gathering." Also, King William's Town (Biko's home) was a 900km drive from Cape Town-- a drive of over 12 hours. With all the police checkpoints, it would be like trying to wade through a minefield.

6- The New South Africa hasn't had an easy time of the transition. Htere have been attempts to reconcile centuries of oppression but there are still some hard feelings on both sides. I know that South Africa has been trying desperately to keep from becoming the next Zimbabwe.