SLICE: A case for journalism and law students to take on the 52 steps at the Gallows Museum 

by | Apr 29, 2026

Wits journalism students confront apartheid’s execution site and argue visits should be compulsory for future reporters and lawyers.

  • At least 130 political prisoners were hanged there, including ANC freedom fighter Solomon Mahlangu, with many buried in unmarked graves at Rebecca Street Cemetery.
  • The trapdoor at Kgoši Mampuru II is now a national heritage site, but between 1960 and 1990 it executed more than 3,500 people — seven at a time.

On Wednesday, April 15, 2026,  Wits Centre for Journalism students took the 52-step ascent to the gallows at Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional Centre. The trapdoor is now part of a national heritage site, but between 1960 and 1990 this room executed more than 3,500 people — seven at a time. If Wits University trains the next defenders of our Constitution, then Wits should make this site compulsory for first-year Law students and Honours Journalism students. 
 
Department of Justice records show more than 3,500 prisoners were hanged at Pretoria Central Prison, which closed in 1996 and is now known as the Gallows Memorial Museum. At least 130 to 134 of the prisoners were political activists, including ANC freedom fighter Solomon Mahlangu. Many were buried in unmarked graves at Rebecca Street Cemetery in Mamelodi. The last political execution took place on 29 September 1989, months before the government abolished the death penalty. This was the same gallows where Kgoši Mampuru II himself was executed in 1883, and later, Daisy de Melker. 
 
Critics may argue that the site is traumatic, or that students already study S v Makwanyane where the Constitutional Court outlawed capital punishment in 1995. However, reading a judgment is not the same as standing where the law failed. Law students practise justice in moot courts at Wits. First-year Law and Honours Journalism students must also face where justice failed. The facility is 54,3km from campus. The tour exists. 

This visit should be compulsory because Law and Journalism students can’t just read about historic event. Law students will stand up in court one day to talk about people’s freedom. They need to see the room where the state used to execute people. Journalism students will write news stories about jails and courts. If the visit is optional, most students will skip it because it’s hard, but protecting the Constitution isn’t optional. If Wits wants to train lawyers and journalists who care about justice, this isn’t just an educational excursion, but foundational training. If we have never faced the state’s most final act, how can we report it with the weight it demands? 

I believe education without memory is incomplete. Wits should partner with the Department of Correctional Services to include an excursion to the Gallows Memorial Museum for first-year Law students and Honours Journalism students, with proper counselling support. A Constitution written to prevent 3,500 deaths cannot be understood without confronting where those deaths happened. The law is not only in textbooks. Sometimes, it’s at the top of 52 steps. 

FEATURED IMAGE: Wits Great Hall. Photo: Khutso Ngwatoana

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