Today marks 40 years since the death of Adri Aaron Faas, a bright and determined young man from Paarl whose life was cut short at just 18 years old. On the night of 28 August 1985, Adri was shot and killed by a police officer during the height of Apartheid unrest.
Born on 6 November 1966, Adri was the eldest of four children in the Faas family. His mother, Spasie, worked at an old age home, and his father, Alexander, earned a living as a painter. At their home in Lantana Street, Paarl East, Adri was known as the “clever one”, a sharp-minded young man with a strong character. He attended Nederburg Primary and later Paulus Joubert Senior Secondary, where he excelled in academics and sport. A talented cross-country runner, he also trained under the late David Samaai, a pioneer of South African tennis. Adri dreamed of becoming a lawyer and was admired by friends as a thinker who stood firmly against racial oppression. After matriculating in 1984, he enrolled at the University of the Western Cape, where he studied while working weekends to help fund his education.
Speeches banned
On 28 August 1985, protests broke out in Paarl East as residents demonstrated against Apartheid laws. Adri was walking nearby with friends when police moved in to disperse the crowd. In the chaos, a senior officer fired a shot, striking Adri in the head. He collapsed in Lloyd Street where he died on the scene. His parents only learned the truth the next day, after desperately searching for him. The inquest that followed cleared the officer of wrongdoing, reflecting how the Apartheid justice system routinely shielded state officials from accountability.
Adri’s funeral drew mourners from across the Western Cape, but the state tightly controlled the proceedings. Political speeches were banned, the procession route restricted, and mourners were ordered to travel only in cars. Yet thousands still walked, singing and toy-toying in defiance. Police fired teargas and rubber bullets, scattering them before they reached the cemetery.
For years, the Faas family lived with unanswered questions. It was only during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in 1996 when it came to light that the weapon used had not been state-issued and that the killing was deliberate. This testimony by Captain John Clayton confirmed what Adri’s family had long believed; that their son was murdered, and justice had been denied.
The loss devastated the family. Adri’s parents’ marriage fell apart under the strain, and his younger brother Allan, unable to cope with the trauma, took his own life in 1993 during his sister Louisa’s, final matric exams. She left school to care for their mother after Allan’s death, carrying her brother’s memory with strength despite the scars. Spasie never recovered from the heartbreak of losing her sons. Grief took a heavy toll on her health, and she eventually required care at Stikland Hospital until her passing in 1999. Alexander, Adri’s father, carried his sorrow quietly until his death in 2011.
More than a victim
Today, Paulus Joubert Senior Secondary has ensured Adri’s name lives on. The school has erected a memorial stone in his honour and named its hall after him. These tributes remind the community that Adri was more than a victim of state violence; he was a son, a brother, a student, and a leader whose life embodied the struggle for justice.
Forty years later, Adri Faas’s story remains a symbol of the injustice of Apartheid and the resilience of those who endured it. His life and death remind us of the futures stolen from young South Africans, and of a justice system that too often protected power instead of truth. As his sister Louisa reflects, one cannot help but wonder who Adri might have become if his life had not been taken; perhaps a lawyer, as he dreamed, or a leader, as his friends imagined.
That legacy continues through Louisa’s children, who look up to the values their uncle stood for. Her daughter Nicole, the very image of Adri, honours him with her singing voice, while her son Adri, who proudly bears his name, is a gifted rugby player who is currently preparing to represent the Leopards in Potchefstroom. Through them, the spirit of Adri Faas lives on.
Adri is also survived by his younger brother, Alexander, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
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