Everything about The Rivonia Trial totally explained
The
Rivonia Trial was a
trial which took place in
South Africa between
1963 and
1964, in which ten leaders of the
African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to "ferment[sic] violent revolution"
(External Link
) to overthrow the
apartheid system.
Origins
It was named after
Rivonia, the suburb of
Johannesburg where 19 ANC leaders were arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, privately owned by
Arthur Goldreich, on
11th July 1963. It had been used as a hideout for the
African National Congress. Among others,
Nelson Mandela had moved onto the farm in October
1961 and evaded security police while masquerading as a gardener and cook called David Motsamayi (meaning "the walker").
Arrests
Arrested were:
and others.
Goldberg, Bernstein, Hepple and Goldreich were white
Jews, Kathrada was
Indian, and Sisulu, Mbeki, Motsoaledi and Mhlaba were black.
The trial was essentially a mechanism through which the apartheid government could hurt or mute the ANC. Its leaders, including
Nelson Mandela, who was already serving a 5 years sentence on
Robben Island for leaving the country without a passport, were prosecuted, found guilty, and imprisoned. The apartheid regime's attack on the ANC's leadership and organizers continued with a trial known as
Little Rivonia, in which other ANC members were prosecuted for their anti-apartheid activities. Amongst the defendents in this trial was the chief of MK,
Wilton Mkwayi who was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside Mandela and the other ANC leaders on Robben Island.
The government took advantage of 90 days without trial, and the defendants were held incommunicado. Meanwhile, Goldreich and Wolpe bribed a guard and escaped from jail on
August 11. Their escape infuriated the prosecutors and police who considered Goldreich to be "the arch-conspirator."
Lawyers were unable to see the accused until two days before indictment on
October 9. Leading the defense team was
Bram Fischer, the distinguished Afrikaner lawyer, assisted by
Harry Schwarz,
Joel Joffe,
Arthur Chaskalson,
George Bizos and
Harold Hanson. At the end of October, Hepple was able to leave the dock because he'd agreed to testify for the prosecution; later he managed to flee the country.
The presiding judge was Dr.
Quartus de Wet, judge-president of the
Transvaal.
The chief prosecutor was Dr.
Percy Yutar, deputy attorney-general of the
Transvaal.
The trial began on
November 26,
1963. After dismissal of the first indictment as inadequate, the trial finally got under way on
December 3 with an expanded indictment. Each of the ten accused pleaded not guilty. The trial ended on
June 12,
1964.
List of defendants
Nelson Mandela
Walter Sisulu
Govan Mbeki (father of Thabo Mbeki, now President of South Africa)
Raymond Mhlaba
Elias Motsoaledi
Ahmed Kathrada
Denis Goldberg
Andrew Mlangeni
Wilton Mkwayi
Lionel "Rusty" Bernstein (acquitted)
Harold Wolpe
James Kantor
Defence Barristers
Harry Schwarz
Arthur Chaskalson
Bram Fischer
Joel Joffe
Charges
Charges were:
recruiting persons for training in the preparation and use of explosives and in guerrilla warfare for the purpose of violent revolution and committing acts of sabotage
conspiring to commit the aforementioned acts and to aid foreign military units when they invaded the Republic,
acting in these ways to further the objects of communism
soliciting and receiving money for these purposes from sympathizers in Algeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria, Tunisia, and elsewhere.
"Production requirements" for munitions for a six-month period were sufficient, the prosecutor Percy Yutar said in his opening address, to blow up a city the size of Johannesburg.
Kantor was discharged at the end of the prosecution's case.
The trial was condemned by the United Nations Security Council and nations around the world, leading to international sanctions against the South African government in some cases.
Escapes
Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe escaped from The Fort prison in Johannesburg while on remand after bribing a prison guard. After hiding in various safe houses for two months they escaped through Swaziland dressed as priests with the aid of Manni Brown who posed as a tour operator as a cover to deliver weapons to the ANC.
Wolpe's escape saw his brother-in-law, James Kantor arrested and being charged with the same crimes as Mandela and his co-accused. After being the subject of vicious taunting and many attempts to place him as a vital cog of MK by Percy Yutar, finally Judge Quartus de Wet discharged him, stating Accused No 8 has no case to answer. Kantor fled the country and died of a massive heart attack in 1975. His health never recovered from the harsh treatment while in prison awaiting trial.
Results
Originally the death penalty had been requested, but was changed because of world-wide protests and skilled legal maneuvers on the part of the defence team. Eight defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment; Lionel Bernstein was acquitted.
» (External Link) "There was no surprise in the fact that Mandela, Sisulu, Mbeki, Motsoaledi, Mlangeni, and Goldberg were found guilty on all four counts. The defense had hoped that Mhlaba, Kathrada, and Bernstein might escape conviction because of the skimpiness of evidence that they were parties to the conspiracy, although undoubtedly they could be prosecuted on other charges. But Mhlaba too was found guilty on all counts, and Kathrada, on one charge of conspiracy. Bernstein, however, was found not guilty. He was rearrested, released on bail, and placed under house arrest. Later he fled the country."
Denis Goldberg went to Pretoria Central Prison instead of Robben Island (at that time the only security wing for white political prisoners in South Africa) where he served 22 years.
Nelson Mandela would spend nearly thirty years in prison as a result of the trial. He was released on February 10, 1990 by President F.W. de Klerk.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Rivonia Trial'.
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