# South Africa bans The World and Weekend World newspapers and detains editor Percy Qoboza

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 4 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-26.

On October 19, 1977, a day South Africans came to call Black Wednesday, the government banned the newspapers The World and Weekend World and had the Special Branch police arrest editor Percy Qoboza and deputy editor Aggrey Klaaste. Qoboza was detained without charge under the Internal Security Act until his release in March 1978, and The World did not resume publication.[1][2]

- Country: [South Africa](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/za) (RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180)
- Where: ZA
- Level of government: National
- Tactics: Licensing and closure of outlets, Detention and violence
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing#stage-silence)
- Head of government at the time: [Balthazar Johannes Vorster](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/john-vorster)
- Issue of the day: The bannings and detentions followed the September 1977 death in police custody of Black Consciousness Movement leader Steve Biko and accompanied the government's move to outlaw nineteen Black Consciousness organizations on the same day.
- Outcome: Sustained, 1 March 1978. Qoboza was released from detention in March 1978 after international pressure, but The World did not resume publication.
- Era: The 1970s

## What happened

Percy Qoboza had edited The World, then South Africa's most widely read Black newspaper, since 1974, and the paper had covered the 1976 Soweto uprising and its aftermath. On October 19, 1977, the Special Branch of the South African Police arrested Qoboza and Aggrey Klaaste, the news editor of the affiliated Weekend World, in an operation South African History Online describes as a mission to shut down the two Black publications. The government banned The World and Weekend World the same day and detained Qoboza under section 10 of the Internal Security Act, holding him without charge at Modderbee Prison, east of Johannesburg; Klaaste was held there as well. The same day, the government banned nineteen Black Consciousness Movement organizations and detained scores of their members, weeks after the death in police custody of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko. Aggrey Klaaste later wrote that police came to his home in Meadowlands on the morning of the arrests to read him a detention notice. Qoboza was released in March 1978 after international pressure. The World did not reopen; Qoboza went on to edit a different newspaper, the Post.[1][2][3][4][5]

## What reason was given

The government held Qoboza and Klaaste under section 10 of the Internal Security Act, a law that let authorities detain people without charge or trial, without publicly detailing an individual reason for their detention.[1][2][3][4][5]

## What changed for reporting

The World and Weekend World stopped publishing after the ban, and Qoboza and Klaaste were held without charge for months at Modderbee Prison, according to South African History Online.[3][4]

## Timeline

- 1977-10-19: South Africa bans The World and Weekend World newspapers and detains editor Percy Qoboza

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [The World](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/the-world) | outlet | affected |
| [Weekend World](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/weekend-world) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. Percy Qoboza and his deputy, Aggrey Klaaste are arrested by the Special Branch police. https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/percy-qoboza-and-his-deputy-aggrey-klaaste-are-arrested-special-branch-police (South African History Online, 2013-10-17).
2. Black Wednesday, the banning of 19 Black Consciousness Movement Organisations. https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/black-wednesday-banning-19-black-consciousness-movement-organisations (South African History Online, 2019-10-18).
3. Lessons from Black Wednesday, by Jerome Klaaste, 18 October 2019. https://sahistory.org.za/archive/lessons-black-wednesday-jerome-klaaste-18-october-2019 (South African History Online, 2019-10-18).
4. Percy Qoboza, editor of the Post, states that it is difficult to see how a credible newspaper for Blacks can be created in South Africa. https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/percy-qoboza-editor-post-states-it-difficult-see-how-credible-newspaper-blacks-can-be (South African History Online, 2011-03-16).

## Claims cited

[1] The Special Branch police arrested The World's editor, Percy Qoboza, and his deputy, Aggrey Klaaste, in an operation to shut down the two Black publications. Quote: "The editor of The World and Weekend World, Percy Qoboza and his deputy, Aggrey Klaaste were arrested by the Special Branch police in a mission to shut down the two Black publications." Source: South African History Online, 2013-10-17. Percy Qoboza and his deputy, Aggrey Klaaste are arrested by the Special Branch police. https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/percy-qoboza-and-his-deputy-aggrey-klaaste-are-arrested-special-branch-police Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/810, checked 2026-09-26.

[2] On October 19, 1977, the government banned the newspapers The World and Weekend World. Quote: "On October 19, 1977, The World and Weekend World were banned." Source: South African History Online, 2019-10-18. Black Wednesday, the banning of 19 Black Consciousness Movement Organisations. https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/black-wednesday-banning-19-black-consciousness-movement-organisations Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/811, checked 2026-09-26.

[3] Qoboza was taken into detention and held for five months under section 10 of the Internal Security Act at Modderbee Prison. Quote: "was taken into detention and held for five months under section 10 of the Internal Security Act in Modderbee Prison." Source: South African History Online, 2019-10-18. Black Wednesday, the banning of 19 Black Consciousness Movement Organisations. https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/black-wednesday-banning-19-black-consciousness-movement-organisations Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/812, checked 2026-09-26.

[4] Aggrey Klaaste recalled that police came to his home in Meadowlands on the morning of October 19, 1977, to read him a notice of his detention. Quote: "They came to my home in Meadowlands, the morning of the 19th, complaining bitterly that we had given them, the police, sleepless nights." Source: South African History Online, 2019-10-18. Lessons from Black Wednesday, by Jerome Klaaste, 18 October 2019. https://sahistory.org.za/archive/lessons-black-wednesday-jerome-klaaste-18-october-2019 Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/813, checked 2026-09-26.

[5] Qoboza was detained without charge until his release in March 1978, after international pressure. Quote: "the newspaper was banned and Qoboza was detained without a charge until March 1978. International pressure led to his release" Source: South African History Online, 2011-03-16. Percy Qoboza, editor of the Post, states that it is difficult to see how a credible newspaper for Blacks can be created in South Africa. https://sahistory.org.za/dated-event/percy-qoboza-editor-post-states-it-difficult-see-how-credible-newspaper-blacks-can-be Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/814, checked 2026-09-26.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1977-south-africa-world-newspaper-banned-qoboza-detained. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.