Biko, born in the Eastern Cape was a former Black Consciousness Movement leader and struggle hero, born 88 December 1946.
He died in custody as a result of police brutality on 12 September 1977.
“To mark this sad episode in the history of the South African struggle for liberation, President Jacob Zuma will visit Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre on Tuesday and lay a wreath at the cell in which Mr Biko died,” the presidency said in a statement.
“Biko believed and understood very strongly that first and foremost in our liberation struggle it is very important to liberate people mentally, because once you decolonise the mind, everything else follows….”
“That is why he emphasised that political independence without economic freedom is meaningless because you are not going to be able to do anything without the necessary resources”, says Professor Simphiwe Sesanti Associate Professor at Unisa’s Institute for African Renaissance Studies.
In his honour an international musician Peter Gabriel released a song ‘Biko’ that drew admiration world wide.
Commemorations in his honour will be held countrywide.
