Johannesburg's Executive Mayor Councillor Amos Masondo lays a wreath at the Hector Pieterson Memorial Photograph: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg

RELATED LINKS: Hector's mother had a premonition HECTOR Pieterson's mother had a dream several months before her son's tragic death that prepared her for her loss. Read more Student walkway to be unveiled on 16 June A 10-KM walkway tracing the route Soweto pupils marched along on 16 June, 1976, in protest against the use of Afrikaans in the classroom, is to be unveiled on 16 June this year. Read more Soweto heritage walk takes its first step A PLAN for the creation of a Soweto Heritage Precinct, which takes in important historical sites in Orlando West in particular, has been approved by the City. Read more Hector: the famous child whose face is unknown THE Hector Pieterson Museum is open but don't expect to come away with an image of what Hector looked like. Read more Hector Pieterson gets his memorial A MEMORIAL alongside the museum honours the sacrifices made by Hector Pieterson and others on that dramatic day. Read more June 16, 1976 - Hastings Ndlovu's day too THE doctor interrupted his mid-morning tea break, rushed into the casualty section and was greeted by "a grisly scene". Lying on the stretcher was the body of a young boy dressed in school uniform, his head covered in blood, a gaping bullet wound exposing his brain. Read more

Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Amos Masondo and Council Speaker Nandi Mayathula-Khoza

Walkway marking route of '76 unveiled A MEMORIAL walkway along the route taken by protesters on 16 June 1976 was unveiled by Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Councillor Amos Masondo, on Youth Day. June 17, 2005 By Bafana Nzimande THE first steps of that fateful protest march by Soweto pupils on 16 June 1976, when many youngsters were gunned down by police, were re-lived - and remembered - on Thursday with the unveiling of the beginning of a memorial walkway along the route. Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Councillor Amos Masondo, formally opened the first 20m of the walkway, at Naledi High School. The 8,5km route, tracing the footsteps the protesters took 29 years ago, will wind its way from the high school through the township to the police station in Orlando West. It was here that 12-year-old Hector Pieterson was shot by police. His death became the flashpoint for uprisings across the country. The mayor unveils the June 16 memorial walkway An initiative by the Soweto 100 Legacy Foundation, the walkway is in the first phase of development and is expected to be complete in 2006. The route will be paved with black granite stones, marked with silver engraving. The chief executive officer of Soweto 100, Pam Ndaba Mthembu, announced that a garden of remembrance across the road from the Morris Isaacson School in Jabavu would also be established as part of the walkway. "Hopefully everything will be complete by September and we hope corporates will support this initiative by buying memorial sections," she said. In his address Masondo pointed out that June 16 symbolised an important part of the country's history and people must not lose sight of its significance. "It's very important for us to know where we come from." He added, "I hope today's unveiling will help us maintain our country's history and instil pride among our people as we acknowledge all those heroes and heroines of 1976." Three large granite stones have already been laid on the walkway: from the City of Johannesburg, the Soweto 100, and events and sports management company SAIL. The ceremony was attended by community members and dignitaries, including City Manager Pascal Moloi, former Johannesburg mayor Isaac Mogase, and Sibongile Mkhabela, the chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, and a member of the class of '76. Musician Sipho Mabuse said June 16 was a day to remember the sacrifices of the previous generation. The ceremony was broadcast live from Naledi High School by Kaya FM's Buyile Mdladla. The mayor then went on to lay a wreath at the Hector Pieterson Memorial. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za