Duma Joshua Kumalo was a South African human rights activist and one of the Sharpeville Six

Sharpeville Six

The Sharpeville Six were six South African protesters convicted of the murder of Deputy Mayor of Sharpeville, Kuzwayo Jacob Dlamini, and sentenced to death....

. He was condemned to death under the 1984 law of "common purpose", which allowed a person to be convicted for having been in the vicinity of an offence, without personally committing it. In 1988, he received a stay of execution the day before sentence was to be carried out. Following his release from jail in 1991, Kumalo became involved in many human rights activities, including discussions about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and work with Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

. He was a founder member of the Khulumani Support Group for victims of apartheid-related violence.

Kumalo also became involved in theatre and film projects as a way of telling his story and engaging others with human rights issues. His play The Story I Am About To Tell

The Story I Am About to Tell

The Story I Am About to Tell was a successful South African play by Duma Kumalo. Produced by a support group for survivors giving testimony at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and starring three of them, it ran for five years both at home and abroad.- Concept :The play was designed for...

enjoyed huge success, running in South Africa and internationally for five years.

Miscellaneous

• The Bones Are Still Calling, with Seputla Sebogodi

Kumalo also contributed to Zulu Love Letter, by Ramadan Suleman and Bheki Pieterson.