After the african national congress anc and pan africanist congress were outlawed in april 1960, opponents of the apartheid government increasingly turned to violent resistance. Mandelas iconic rivonia speech set for digital release. The rivonia trial, arguably the most significant political trial in south african history, generated a vast archive, ranging from the official court records to media coverage of the trial. The charges, in what is often called the rivonia trial for the johannesburg suburb that was the location of the hideout for a militant wing of the african national congress, were sabotage and conspiracy, and there was little doubt that but that mandela and most of the other defendants would be found guilty. All leaders imprisoned except chief luthuli tension between white and nonwhite escalated in to a new level. The story of nelson mandela and the other rivonia trialists, from the series have you heard from johannesburg. Court document on rivonia trial transcript nelson mandela walter sisulu cross examination. Between 1963 and 1964, ten leaders of the anc were tried in the rivonia trial that has been described as the trial that changed south africa. One of the men was the future president of south africa. The rivonia trial and the fate of south africa by kenneth s broun the defence lawyers emerge as the stars in this fascinating account of mandelas trial.
Rivonia trial 1963 1964 south african history online. Rusty bernstein, accused no 6, was acquitted in the rivonia trial, but arrested again soon after and released on bail. Events in history at the time of the speechthe speech in focus source for information on the rivonia trial. That is the message of this book so writes the minister of justice, the hon. Defence case in the rivonia trial pretoria supreme court, south africa 20th april, 1964 i am the first accused. The consequences of the rivonia trial by rebecca zhu on prezi.
This address occurred soon after the rivonia trial to maintain international pressure on apartheid south africa. Synopsis mandela defends the actions of the paramilitary group umkhonto we sizwe by describing african life under apartheid. The rivonia trial led to the imprisonment of nelson mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the palace of justice, pretoria. It recounts his escape to avoid testifying against the rivonia trialists.
I make bold to say that every particular allegation in the indictment has been proved. The rivonia trial rivonia is a township near johannesburg where most of the nine accused in the trial were arrested on 11th july 1963 on premises described by the police as revolutionary headquarters of the african national congress. Anc president oliver tambo addresses a crowd outside south africa house in trafalgar square, london. Martin luther king at the march on washington delivered a. Nelson rolihlahla mandela history, life, death and quotes. The accused include nelson mandela, who was one of the accused.
The trial was essentially a mechanism through which the apartheid government attempted to silence the anc who were fighting for the political rights of all. This programme was first broadcast on 10 february, 2010 ahmed kathrada was one of the anc activists jailed alongside nelson mandela at. The rivonia trial took place in south africa between 9 october 1963 and 12 june 1964. The protest and struggle against apartheid moved into a new era. The rivonia trial was a trial that took place in south africa between 1963 and 1964. Digitized recordings of the rivonia trial of antiapartheid leader nelson mandela in south africa are to be released. Ten leaders of the african national congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the apartheid system. After the sharpeville massacre in 1960, the anc was outlawed, and mandela, still on trial, was detained. This database, and the records audit on which it is built, constitutes a first step towards documenting the archive. Closing arguments began in the rivonia trial on may 20. It was named after rivonia, the suburb of johannesburg where 19 anc leaders were arrested at liliesleaf farm, privately owned by arthur goldreich, on 11 july 1963. When nelson mandela was on trial for treason in 1964, he made a speech in the courtroom.
Rivonia trial papers, struggles for freedom on jstor. This trial was made after the police raid on the mk base in rivonia, which showed documents of relations to the 10 accused men one of the was future president of south africa nelson mandela. I hold a bachelors degree in arts and practised as an attorney in johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with oliver tambo. With his gentle but defiant statement, mandela, at the age of 45, laid his life on the line at the rivonia trial on april 20, 1964. The trial was named after rivonia, just outside johannesburg, where 19 anc leaders were arrested at liliesleaf farm. A political icon, a revolutionary, and a moral standard for the country, mandela was imprisoned in 1964 after the infamous rivonia trial, which, barely sparing him a death sentence, imprisoned him. Digitizing the rivonia trial dictabelts with the archeophone phonograph, pdf of the slideshow presented at the conference listening to the rivonia trial. The rivonia trial was not about apartheid it was about murders committed at the hands of nelson mandela and others. He has just published a book, titled young man with a red tie. He and eight other defendants by april, the charges against a. Photograph from sunday times, supplied by ste publishers.
This trial was held after the police raid on the mk base in rivonia, where documents related to the 10 accused men were found. Nelson mandela full speech at start rivonia trial 20. The rivonia trial was named after rivonia, the suburb of johannesburg where leaders had been arrested and documents discovered at liliesleaf farm, privately owned by arthur goldreich, on 11 july 1963. When mandelas, and the worlds, fate changed at historic. These essays explore questions regarding the significance of unregulated speech in a marketplace of goods and ideas, the limits of offensive language and obscenity as expression, the power of symbols, and. The nelson mandela centre of memory has a rare typescript of the speech, which mr mandela autographed and. The speech lasted three hours and was the last time he would speak publicly until he was released from prison almost 30 years later, in 1990. Rescuing the rivonia trial recordings sound and vision blog. The rivonia trial was a trial that 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 overthrow the apartheid system. Denis goldberg and andrew mlangeni, two of the three surviving defendants of the rivonia trial, outside the scene of the historic police raid, liliesleaf farm, in 2014. Not only must we get to know who our enemy is, we must also render him harmless. The rivonia trial had no jury and only a superficial aura of due process, combined with heavy security that symbolized the apartheid governments system of repression.
Rivonia trial transcript nelson mandela walter sisulu. Mandelas iconic rivonia speech set for digital release 17 nov, 2017 11. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. It was a brutal turning point in the history of south africa as most of the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment. Free speech on trial fills a gap between textbooks that summarize first amendment law and books that analyze case law and legal theory. Rivonia trial the original indictment in this trial was quashed for want of particularity but an application to quash the second indictment or to order further particulars was refused by the judge. Courts, archives and liberation movements, johannesburg university of the.
On 16 july, the directorgeneral of unesco, irina bokova, participated in a series of events on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the rivonia trial, which led to the imprisonment of nelson mandela and other african national congress leaders and provided a platform for freedom fighters to continue to push their struggle against apartheid. Nelson mandelas statement at the opening of the defense case in the rivonia trial pretoria supreme court, april 20, 1964 i am the first accused. Just keep the character on top of your desktop and click on him whenever you want him to read. Broun shows how outstanding advocacy, combined with widespread public support, in fact backfired on apartheid leaders, who sealed their own fate. Among others, nelson mandela had moved onto the farm in october 1961 and evaded security police while. The rivonia trial speechby nelson mandelathe literary work a speech given by nelson mandela in his own defense on aprii 20, 1964, in pretoria, south africa. In addition to text, 2nd speech center also allows you to convert text to mp3 or wave files for listening later with your portable mp3 player. The principal difference between the two indictments was that in the second a. There is not a single material allegation in the opening address that has not been proved. It can read your documents, email, web pages or any text in the clipboard. The farm had been used as a hideout for the african national congress and others. On the 50th anniversary of nelson mandelas rivonia speech from.
Nelson mandela speech while in the dock on 20th april 1964 i have fought against white domination, and i have fought against black domination. This book carefully documents the evidence from the rivonia trial. The emphasis is on the power of rhetoric to direct the path of society with the. Where there is power, there is resistance, and yet, or rather consequently, this resistance is never in a position of exteriority in relation to power. The consequences of the rivonia trial the authorities successfully broke up the anc and mk.
The rivonia trial, named after the suburb of johannesburg where sixteen leaders of the african national congress had been arrested in july 1963, began on 26 november 1963. Between october 1963 and june 1964, 10 defendants, including nelson mandela, were prosecuted during the infamous rivonia trial. The trial was recorded on 591 dictabelts, a now obsolete audio recording medium. On 11 july 1963, police raided liliesleaf farm at rivonia, near johannesburg, and arrested members of the high command of umkhonto we sizwe, the armed. It is an ideal which i hope to live for and to achieve. Proof of conspiracy to sabotage, terrorism and murder. Unesco celebrates the 50th anniversary of the rivonia trial. Bbc world service witness history, the rivonia trial. This recording was made on the start of the rivonia trial, which saw mister nelson mandela and seven other men penalized with a livelong jail sentence for supposedly taking part in 221 acts of. The media presence and coverage of the rivonia trial was significant. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. The over the 591 original rivonia trial dictabelts.
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