{{Short description|South African teenage political murder victim (1974–1989)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use South African English|date = June 2023}}
{{Infobox person | name = Stompie Seipei | birth_name = James Seipei | birth_date = 1974 | birth_place = Parys, South Africa | death_date = 1 January 1989 (aged 14)<ref>[https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/stompie-seipeis-murderer-goes-jail Stompie Seipei's murderer goes to jail], sahistory.org.za. Accessed 14 December 2023.</ref> | death_place = Soweto, Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa<ref>[https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media/1997/9709/s970923g.htm MURDERED BOY'S MOTHER WANTS WINNIE TO PAY COMPENSATION], justice.gov.za. Accessed 14 December 2023.</ref> | death_cause = Murdered (by Jerry Vusi Richardson) | other_names = Stompie Moeketsi }}
'''James Seipei''' (1974 – 1 January 1989), also known as '''Stompie Moeketsi''' or '''Stompie Sepei''', was a teenage United Democratic Front (UDF) activist from Parys, South Africa. He and three other boys were kidnapped on 29 December 1988 by members of Winnie Mandela's bodyguards (known as the Mandela United Football Club). He was murdered on 1 January 1989, the only one of the boys to be killed.<ref name="trc_v2c6">{{Cite report|url=http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/finalreport/volume2/volume2.pdf|title=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|last1=Tutu|first1=Desmond|last2=Mkhize|first2=Hlengiwe|date=October 29, 1998|publisher=Truth and Reconciliation Commission|location=South Africa|volume=2|pages=555–582|last3=Boraine|first3=Alex|last4=Ntsebeza|first4=Dumisa|last5=Burton|first5=Mary|last6=Orr|first6=Wendy|last7=Finca|first7=Bongani|last8=Potgieter|first8=Denzil|last9=Khampepe|first9=Sisi|author-link1=Desmond Tutu|author-link2=Hlengiwe Mkhize|access-date=November 24, 2017|author-link3=Alex Boraine|author-link4=Dumisa Ntsebeza|author-link9=Sisi Khampepe|last10=Randera|first10=Fazel|last11=Lyster|first11=Richard|last12=Sooka|first12=Yasmin|last13=Malan|first13=Wynand|last14=Wildschut|first14=Glenda|last15=Mgojo|first15=Khoza|author-link12=Yasmin Sooka|author-link13=Wynand Malan|display-authors=5}}</ref>
==Activism== Seipei joined the street uprising against apartheid in April 1985 at age ten, and soon took on a leading role. He became the country's youngest political detainee when he spent his 12th birthday in jail without trial. At the age of 13 he was expelled from school.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1D61330F935A25751C0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=In Storm Over Winnie Mandela, Body Is Identified as Soweto Boy's|first=Christopher S.|last=Wren|journal=The New York Times|date=February 16, 1989}}</ref>
==Murder== Seipei, together with Kenny Kgase, Pelo Mekgwe and Thabiso Mono, were kidnapped on 29 December 1988 from the Methodist manse in Orlando, Soweto, the home of a Methodist minister, Paul Verryn. Seipei was wrongly<ref name="trc_v2c6"/> accused of being a police informer. Screams were heard as the 14-year-old was murdered by Jerry Vusi Richardson, a member of Winnie Mandela's team of bodyguards. Richardson died in 2009.<ref>[https://www.heraldscotland.com/default_content/12386155.jerry-vusi-richardson/ Notice of death of Jerry Vusi Richardson], heraldscotland.com. Accessed 14 December 2023.</ref> Seipei's body was recovered on waste ground near Winnie Mandela's home on 6 January 1989.<ref name="trc_v2c6" /> His throat had been cut. Richardson was later convicted of the murder. He stated that Winnie Mandela had ordered him, with others, to abduct the four youths from Soweto, of whom Seipei was the youngest.<ref>{{cite book|first=Fred|last=Brigland|title=Katiza's journey. Beneath the surface of South Africa's shame|location=London|publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson|year=1997|isbn=0333727371}}</ref> The four were severely beaten.<ref name="nyt" />
==Involvement of Winnie Mandela== In 1991, Winnie Mandela was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC|title=1991: Mandela's wife jailed for kidnaps|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/14/newsid_2863000/2863807.stm|date=May 14, 1991}}</ref> but her six-year jail sentence was reduced to a fine and a two-year suspended sentence on appeal. Mandela's role was later probed as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings, in 1997.<ref name="independentFreshMurderCharge">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/winnie-may-face-fresh-murder-charge-1296630.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/winnie-may-face-fresh-murder-charge-1296630.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Winnie may face fresh murder charge|journal=The Independent|date=28 November 1997}}</ref>
Appearing before the TRC in 1997, she said allegations that she was involved in at least 18 human rights abuses including eight murders were "ridiculous" and said that her main accuser, former comrade Katiza Cebekhulu, was a former "mental patient" and his allegations against her were "hallucinations".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/36680.stm|publisher=BBC|date=December 4, 1997|title=Winnie says evidence against her is 'ludicrous'}}</ref> Cebekhulu had himself, before the 1991 trial, been tortured and kidnapped to Zambia, where he was detained for almost three years, at the behest of the ANC, before moving to the United Kingdom.<ref name="trc_v2c6" /><ref name="katizaCarlinIndependent1997">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/alive-well-and-still-determined-to-nail-winnie-1287342.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/alive-well-and-still-determined-to-nail-winnie-1287342.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Alive, well - and still determined to nail Winnie|date=1997-12-07|journal=The Independent|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-GB}}</ref> The Commission found that the abduction of Seipei had been carried out on Mandela's instructions, and that she had "initiated and participated in the assaults", had resisted efforts by the "Mandela Crisis Committee" to get the boys released, and had attempted to cover up the death by claiming that Seipei had fled to Botswana. With regard to the actual murder of Seipei, the Commission found Mandela "negligent in that she failed to act responsibly in taking the necessary action required to avert his death".<ref name="trc_v2c6" />
In February 1989, Abu Asvat, a prominent Soweto doctor,<ref name="saHistoryAsvatBio">{{cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/dr-abu-baker-asvat|title=Dr. Abu Baker Asvat|date=25 May 2012|publisher=South African History Online}}</ref> who had examined Seipei after his abduction, was shot dead at his medical practice.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1992/0409/09042.html|title=South Africa Police Order Full Probe Of Mandela Charge|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=9 April 1992}}</ref> Winnie Mandela's alleged role in Asvat's killing was later probed as part of the TRC hearings after Asvat's murder; in addition her associate, Katiza Cebekhulu, implicated her in the murder of Asvat, as part of a cover-up of Seipei's death.<ref name="independentFreshMurderCharge"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/02/world/panel-hears-evidence-winnie-mandela-sought-doctor-s-death.html|title=Panel Hears Evidence Winnie Mandela Sought Doctor's Death|journal=The New York Times|date=2 December 1997}}</ref> The hearings were later adjourned amid claims that witnesses were being intimidated on Winnie Mandela's orders.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/36003.stm|title=Winnie hearing adjourned after intimidation claims|publisher=BBC|date=1 December 1997}}</ref>
In a 2017 documentary, former Soweto police officer Henk Heslinga alleged that former safety minister Sydney Mufamadi had instructed him to re-open the investigation into the death of Seipei, for the purpose of charging Winnie Mandela with murder. In the documentary, Heslinga claimed that Richardson admitted during an interview that Seipei had discovered Richardson was an informant and that he killed the child to cover his tracks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.macleans.ca/opinion/why-winnie-mandela-could-not-be-forgiven/|title=Why Winnie Mandela could not be forgiven|date=4 April 2018|work=Macleans.ca|access-date=9 April 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> However, Mufamadi denied the allegations in the documentary, stating that Helsinga's statements were false.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/sydneymufamadi-denies-allegations-in-winnie-documentary-14468928|title=#SydneyMufamadi denies allegations in #Winnie documentary|publisher=IOL News|date=16 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/live-sydney-mufamadi-addresses-claims-in-winnie-madikizela-mandela-documentary-20180416|title=AS IT HAPPENED: Investigations into Winnie Mandela 'took place at behest of Tony Leon' - Mufamadi|publisher=News24|accessdate=7 December 2023}}</ref> The documentary had been described in a review by ''Vanity Fair'' as "unabashedly one-sided" and "overwhelmingly defensive".<ref name="vanityFairSundanceWinnie">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/winnie-review-1201972227|title=Sundance Film Review: 'Winnie'|first=Guy|last=Lodge|date=30 January 2017|publisher=Variety}}</ref> Commentator Max du Preez called the decision by television station eNCA to broadcast the documentary without context in the week prior to Madikizela-Mandela's funeral a "serious mistake", and he described the film as making "outrageous claims",<ref name="capturedByPopulistPoliticsduPreez">{{cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/Columnists/MaxduPreez/winnies-legacy-captured-by-populist-politics-20180417|title=Winnie's death captured by populist politics|publisher=News24|date=17 April 2018}}</ref> while former TRC commissioner Dumisa Ntsebeza questioned the motives of the documentary maker.<ref name="ntsebezaNews24Documentary">{{cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/dumisa-ntsebeza-accuses-winnie-documentary-maker-of-having-no-regard-for-our-people-20180417|title=Dumisa Ntsebeza accuses Winnie documentary maker of having 'no regard for our people'|publisher=News24|accessdate=7 December 2023}}</ref> In 2024 Katiza Cebekhulu wrote a book in London, where he is still stranded, titled:''"Winnie Mandela, Stompie Moeketsi & Me; My story of a notorious murder and the events that followed".''<ref name="portsmouth.co.uk">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-18 |title=An ex-Winnie Mandela vigilante embroiled in murder trial releases incredible book |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/an-ex-winnie-mandela-vigilante-due-to-testify-in-an-infamous-murder-trial-releases-book-on-life-4787622 |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=The News |language=en}}</ref>
== Further reading == * {{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73780409.html?dids=73780409:73780409&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=FEB+18%2C+1989&author=William+Claiborne&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Fall+of+Winnie+Mandela+Began+Nearly+2+Years+Ago%3B+Erratic+Behavior+Preceded+R|title=Fall of Winnie Mandela Began Nearly 2 Years Ago; Erratic Behavior Preceded Recent Violence|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 18, 1989|access-date=7 July 2017|archive-date=6 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006174728/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73780409.html?dids=73780409:73780409&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=FEB+18,+1989&author=William+Claiborne&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Fall+of+Winnie+Mandela+Began+Nearly+2+Years+Ago%3B+Erratic+Behavior+Preceded+R|url-status=dead}} * {{cite book|first=Emma|last=Gilbey|author-link=Emma Gilbey Keller|title=The Lady. The life and times of Winnie Mandela|location=London|publisher=Vintage|year=1994|isbn=0-09-938801-4}} * Obituary: "Winnie Mandela". ''The Economist'' (7 April 2018), p. 78. * ''"Winnie Mandela, Stompie Moeketsi & Me; My story of a notorious murder and the events that followed".'' Katiza Cebekulu 2024.<ref name="portsmouth.co.uk"/>
==See also== {{portal|South Africa}} *List of kidnappings (1980–1989) *Lists of solved missing person cases
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seipei, Stompie}} Category:1974 births Category:Date of birth missing Category:1980s missing person cases Category:1989 deaths Category:1989 murders in Africa Category:Deaths by edged and bladed weapons Category:Formerly missing people Category:Kidnapped South African children Category:Kidnapped South African people Category:Kidnappings in South Africa Category:Missing person cases in South Africa Category:Child murder in South Africa Category:People murdered in South Africa Category:South African child activists Category:Incidents of violence against boys