Obiora Eke and Aloy Nnamdi Obika / Elixir Literature 115 (2018) 49868-49872 49868 Introduction Athol Fugard is a South African playwright whose plays often concentrated on the theme of apartheid regime of which the resultant effect of the socio-political situation is racial discrimination. The black majority, who constitute the under privileged class, and who by virtue of their birth were the original owners of land, are discriminated against in their fatherland. The societal condition which Athol Fugard writes about is such that individuals are subjected to continual physical and psychological trauma which results in a state of discrimination. This paper intends to reveal the means and methods which Fugard uses to expose racial discrimination in South Africa. Racial discrimination means estrangement of blacks in their own land; a land of which by birth they are the rightful owners. Racial discrimination in South Africa can be said to be a relative term because it is caused by a number of factors such as racial segregation, oppression, frustration, deprivation, unemployment, subjugation and the problem of identity. All these factors come to play at one time or the other in Athol Fugard's plays in general and Sizwe Bansi is Dead in particular. In this submission, racial discrimination will be examined along the social, political, economic and cultural lines. The agents of alienation and the sufferers will be examined also. The play which the researcher will focus on, Sizwe Bansi is Dead will be analyzed from his "Statement” plays. The play will be analyzed vis-a-vis the problems of racial discrimination. The South African Society Racial discrimination in South Africa cannot be fully understood without an insight into the background history of the South African society. This will reveal the socio-political development in the society which serves as the context for artistic writings in the country. According to Solomon Daves as quoted by Dennis Walder, "In no other country is there as direct an electrifying a relationship between an event on the stage and the social and political reality on the street" (5). The oppression, dehumanization, debasement, frustration, and psychological depression of the black majority in South Africa dates back to the period of the struggle for supremacy among the different European nationalities, which came as a result of diverse historical circumstances to settle in the country. The Dutch's first appeared at the South African coast in 1652; the British and the French equally settled there as farmers, traders, and missionaries. The discovery of diamond in 1870 and 1886 respectively as well as the incursion of Germany, Sweden and Portugal only increased the number of white settlers, and this triggered off the struggle to gain control of the economy by dominating the mineral producing areas. The Dutch who were in minority accomplished their aim, usurped political power and declared a republic. The whites intermingled with the indigenous blacks and produced a new set of people, the coloureds or 'Mullatoes' who are neither pure whites nor pure blacks. As Akinwale Timi quoting Donald Denoon succinctly puts it, "Their sense of having separate identity was quickly cultivated by the existence of a large and "alien" community among them" (15). Socio-Political Situation in South Africa The socio-political situation in South Africa is however a product of the European colonization and exploitation. The prevailing condition that existed was one in which the blacks lived as squatters and tenants on the land which they had previously owned; a land their fathers occupied originally, the land which formed the basis of their wealth, and the land the blacks have lived on freely. ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received: 01 October 2017; Received in revised form: 13 February 2018; Accepted: 23 February 2018; Keywords Apartheid, Subjugation, Deprivation, Racial segregation, Black majority, White minority, Oppression. Apartheid Laws and the Oppressed in South Africa: An Example of Athol Fugard's Sizwe Bansi is Dead Obiora Eke and Aloy Nnamdi Obika Department of English Madonna University Nigeria Okija Campus. ABSTRACT The situation that is obtainable in South Africa judging from the historical and socio- political perspective is one in which the black majority lived under the oppressive apartheid regime designed, manipulated and controlled by the white minority. Racial discrimination, an inherent effect of the apartheid policy of the white minority has reduced the blacks to a state of the underprivileged in their fatherland. Racial discrimination in this respect means the state of feeling estranged or separated from one's environment, culturally, socially, economically, politically and otherwise. Its effects on the sociological well being of the individual cannot be overemphasized. The dramatic works of Athol Fugard, a South Africa playwright, have had close sympathy for the situation of the life of blacks in South Africa. The major literary themes of his plays include racial segregation, oppression, deprivation and subjugation. These and the inherent effects of the apartheid laws on the oppressed in South Africa are the main focus in Athol Fugard's play: Sizwe Bansi is Dead are used as a case study in this submission. © 2018 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Literature 115 (2018) 49868-49872 Literature Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal)