Amy Elizabeth Biehl

Amy Elizabeth Biehl (1967 – 1993)

Brief overview:

Amy (26), an American Fulbright scholar, attending university in Cape Town, and working in South Africa against apartheid, was pulled from her car and beaten and stabbed to death in Gugulethu, a black township near Cape Town, on 25th August 1993.

Amy, who had been in South Africa for nearly one year, was driving three co-workers/friends home in Guguletu that day, when a mob of between 80 and 100 youths spilled out of a political rally throwing rocks at the car, and chanting the PAC’s battle cry: “One settler, one bullet.” When she tried to run away, she was stuck on the head with a brick. She was then was beaten and stabbed to death. Her friends tried in vain to stop the attack by shouting that she was a comrade, but it was too late, as she was certified dead at the scene.

Amy had been researching constitutions and bills of rights around the world for ANC leaders writing a new constitution, and she also was involved in voter education efforts. She had just completed her Fulbright paper, “Women in a Democratic South Africa: from Transition to Transformation.”

Four youths were arrested and convicted for Amy's murder. In 1998 the four were granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) after serving five years of their sentence – a decision that was supported by Amy’s parents. Outside the hearing, the four men approached the Biehls and shook their hands. “They asked our forgiveness,” Linda Biehl recalls. “Ntobeko told us that when we forgave him, he didn’t care if he got amnesty because he had just been freed.”

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
  • 4
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
  • Vusumzi Ntamo, Ntobeko Peni, Mzikhona Nofemela and Mongezi Manqina
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • In April 1994, PASO members Mongezi Christopher Manqina, Vusumzi Samuel Ntamo and Mzikhona Easy Nofemela were convicted for Amy's murder.

Additional Biographical Information:

Amy who was of German descent, was a student at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town as a scholar in the Fulbright Program. In 1994, Biehl's parents, Linda and Peter, founded the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust to develop and empower youth in the townships, in order to discourage further violence. Two of the men who had been convicted of her murder worked for the foundation as part of its programs. In 1999, Biehl's parents were honoured with the Aline and Norman Felton Humanitarian Award. Amy Biehl High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico is named in her honour. Amy Biehl Community School at Rancho Viejo in Santa Fe, New Mexico is also named after her. *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Biehl

Amy's legacy is how she led her life. Hers is a legacy of inspiration, not tragedy. Amy was an extraordinary example of dedication, perseverance, courage, and compassion. She lived her life to the fullest, never accepting failure in any of her pursuits. It was her goal to become the best and to use her talents to improve the world. She believed it was her duty, as a person afforded opportunity and education, to actively seek social change for those not so fortunate. It was her dedication and courage that continues to inspire so many people throughout the world. Amy's legacy lives inside so many people. It drives her mother to continue her work and flourishes among the staff of the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust in Cape Town. Her legacy has inspired young people in the United States and has been a source of opportunity to thousands of South African youth. Amy's legacy thrives in the hearts of all of us who knew her and thousands of people she never met who have been inspired by her story. Perhaps most amazingly, her legacy lives through two men who played a big role in her death. Today, Ntobeko Peni and Easy Nofemela spread Amy's legacy throughout their community in South Africa. It is their transformation that truly represents the powerful legacy of Amy Biehl. Their transformation is what Amy was working for. *https://archive.is/Cl5US (Memorial)

Today two organizations are the successors to the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust. The Amy Biehl Foundation USA is headed by Linda Biehl and based in the United States. The Amy Foundation is based in Sybrand Park, Cape Town, South Africa and is headed up by Kevin Chaplin. www.amyfoundation.co.za The reasons for the split into two organizations include Linda and Peter Biehl's desire for the South African organization to stand on its own as a sustainable organization
Linda Biehl, Amy's mother and a founder of the trust, speaks on the promise of restorative justice, and continues the work of the foundation. She was awarded the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo (bronze class) in 2008 by South African President Thabo Mbeki. Two of the four men convicted for Biehl's murder, Easy Nofemela and Ntobeko Peni, have since reconciled with her parents, and Ntobeko Peni still works for the Foundation in South Africa. Easy Nofemela left the Amy Foundation in 2018. *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Biehl_Foundation_Trust

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.is/3gPfZ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSLveeYlw5Y (Video - The Amy Biehl Story)
• https://archive.is/lKsBd
• https://archive.is/cHDFo
• https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/victims/biehl_amy.htm?tab=report
• https://archive.is/r4ic6
• https://archive.is/iziaN
• https://archive.is/TvEq3
• https://archive.is/LzNKo
• https://archive.is/OSCKT
• https://archive.is/FANhu
• https://archive.is/LfjcW
• https://archive.is/XHIo4
• https://archive.is/u8OIX
• https://archive.is/YMjo9 (Amy Biehl High School)
• https://archive.is/iin3b