MR M R MOEMA AND MS T SHANGE ARRESTED
A clerical staff member of the general secretariat of the Southern African Catholic
Bishops’ Conference was detained without trial in Bophuthatswana. Mr. Michael
Ratinyane Moema, 22, was arrested (27/2/87) by five black security policemen,
believed to be from Bophuthatswana, assisted by a member of the South African
security police.
The president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Wilfred
Napier said: “Arbitrary arrests and detentions have never resolved the quagmire into
which governments without vision or popular support fall. Undemocratic means, such
as detention without trial, will never bring about a peaceful and democratic country.
“Heads of state and their security apparatus should realise this and release Mr Moema
and all other people detained without trial”.
Police arrested and detained another Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference
co-worker, Ms Thabi Shange, in Durban in mid-February.