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Rivonia Trial
The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in apartheid-era South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, after a group of anti-apartheid activists were arrested on Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The farm had been the secret location for meetings of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the newly-formed armed wing of the African National Congress. The trial took place in Pretoria at the Palace of Justice and the Old Synagogue.
Men who were convicted and sentenced to prison for their activities included Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Denis Goldberg, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni. Many were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life.
The Rivonia Trial took its name from Rivonia, a suburb of Johannesburg. Various people and groups, including the African National Congress and Communist Party of South Africa, had been using Liliesleaf Farm, owned by Arthur Goldreich, as a hideout. Nelson Mandela moved onto the farm in October 1961 and evaded security police while masquerading as a gardener and cook named David Motsamayi. He was arrested on 5 August 1962 without the farm having been discovered.
On 11 July 1963, the farm was raided by the South African Police. Lionel Bernstein, Denis Goldberg, Arthur Goldreich, Bob Hepple, Abdulhay Jassat, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Moosa Moolla, Elias Motsoaledi, Walter Sisulu and Harold Wolpe were all arrested. They were detained under the General Law Amendment Act No 37 of 1963, which allowed for detention of up to ninety days. Other key leaders such as Oliver Tambo, Moses Kotane, Joe Slovo, Moses Mabhida, Stephen Dlamini, Joe Modise, Alfred Nzo, Wilton Mkwayi and others were not at the farm at the time of these arrests.
The arrest of the MK high command members resulted in their being sentenced to life imprisonment. The actions led to other activists being arrested, and others going into exile.
Arrested were (in alphabetical order):
Goldberg, Bernstein, Wolpe, Kantor, and Goldreich were white Jewish South Africans; Hepple was of English descent on his father's side and Dutch and Jewish on his mother's. Jassat, Kathrada, Moolla were Indian Muslims. Mandela, Mbeki and Mhlaba were indigenous Xhosa; Motsoaledi and Mlangeni were Sotho, and Sisulu was Xhosa (he had an English father and a Xhosa mother).
Leaders prosecuted in the Rivonia Trial included Mandela, who was already being held in Pretoria Local prison, where he was serving a five-year sentence for inciting workers to strike – trade unions were illegal for black workers – and leaving the country illegally.
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Rivonia Trial
The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in apartheid-era South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, after a group of anti-apartheid activists were arrested on Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The farm had been the secret location for meetings of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the newly-formed armed wing of the African National Congress. The trial took place in Pretoria at the Palace of Justice and the Old Synagogue.
Men who were convicted and sentenced to prison for their activities included Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Denis Goldberg, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni. Many were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life.
The Rivonia Trial took its name from Rivonia, a suburb of Johannesburg. Various people and groups, including the African National Congress and Communist Party of South Africa, had been using Liliesleaf Farm, owned by Arthur Goldreich, as a hideout. Nelson Mandela moved onto the farm in October 1961 and evaded security police while masquerading as a gardener and cook named David Motsamayi. He was arrested on 5 August 1962 without the farm having been discovered.
On 11 July 1963, the farm was raided by the South African Police. Lionel Bernstein, Denis Goldberg, Arthur Goldreich, Bob Hepple, Abdulhay Jassat, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Moosa Moolla, Elias Motsoaledi, Walter Sisulu and Harold Wolpe were all arrested. They were detained under the General Law Amendment Act No 37 of 1963, which allowed for detention of up to ninety days. Other key leaders such as Oliver Tambo, Moses Kotane, Joe Slovo, Moses Mabhida, Stephen Dlamini, Joe Modise, Alfred Nzo, Wilton Mkwayi and others were not at the farm at the time of these arrests.
The arrest of the MK high command members resulted in their being sentenced to life imprisonment. The actions led to other activists being arrested, and others going into exile.
Arrested were (in alphabetical order):
Goldberg, Bernstein, Wolpe, Kantor, and Goldreich were white Jewish South Africans; Hepple was of English descent on his father's side and Dutch and Jewish on his mother's. Jassat, Kathrada, Moolla were Indian Muslims. Mandela, Mbeki and Mhlaba were indigenous Xhosa; Motsoaledi and Mlangeni were Sotho, and Sisulu was Xhosa (he had an English father and a Xhosa mother).
Leaders prosecuted in the Rivonia Trial included Mandela, who was already being held in Pretoria Local prison, where he was serving a five-year sentence for inciting workers to strike – trade unions were illegal for black workers – and leaving the country illegally.
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