Harold Snyman (23 April 1928 – 1 November 1998) was a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the South African Security Police. He led the interrogation of Black Consciousness leader

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko Order for Meritorious Service, OMSG (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalism, African nationalist and ...

after Biko's arrest in September 1977. He retired with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. In 1985, he was portrayed in the banned theatre production ''The Biko Inquest'', directed by Saira Essa and Charles Pillay in South Africa. His character was played by a British actor, Andrew Edwards. After

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

's transition to

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, Snyman applied for

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

from the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...

. He testified that he and his fellow officers "slammed Steve Biko's head into a wall, chained him crucifixion style to a gate for 24 hours, then covered up the truth about his death", in contrast to an inquest from decades before, where he and others testified that Biko had banged his head against the wall himself. His submission was rejected on the basis of non-disclosure. He died from skin cancer on 1 November 1998.

References

1998 deaths South African police officers 1928 births Steve Biko affair White South African people {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub Deaths from cancer in South Africa Deaths from stomach cancer