Reflecting on a sad time
Ebrahim makes return to prison cell on Robben Island with the joy of freedom
THURSDAY JANUARY 19 2017
MONDAY marked 28 years since former freedom fighter, and the president’s parliamentary counsellor Ebrahim Ebrahim was found guilty of treason and sentenced to his second term of imprisonment on Robben Island. On the island, he shared a cell with President Jacob Zuma.
He was also one of the confidants in Nelson Mandela’s inner circle, where political developments and the eventual negotiations with the former apartheid regime were discussed, leading to Mandela’s historic release. Over the new year, Ebrahim made the journey back to his cell on Robben Island and shared his memories.
Ebrahim joined Umkhonto We Sizwe, the armed wing of the ANC in 1960. He was arrested in 1963, and along with 18 others, was charged with sabotage and sentenced to 15 years on Robben Island. He was released in 1979, was banned and restricted to his home town of Durban.
In 1980, he went into exile in Swaziland and headed the ANC’s political military committee which gave leadership to the underground ANC cells in South Africa. Six years later, he was kidnapped by South African intelligence officials who illegally smuggled him back into South Africa.
He was subsequently sentenced to a further 20 years in prison for high treason, but in 1991, the Appeal Court ruled that his kidnapping from a foreign country was illegal and that the South African court had no jurisdiction to try him. He was subsequently released from prison in early 1991.
“This was not the first time I returned to the Island after my release, but every time I return, I recollect what is was like when I was first incarcerated,” Ebrahim said.
As he approached Robben Island, he was filled with mixed emotions. There was sadness for the years lost in the desolation of the island where prisoners were forced to chip stones by day, and were starved over the weekend if they failed to meet their quota. But there was also the joy at being a free man, and the sense of victory that the ANC and anti-apartheid movement were ultimately triumphant.
“Our victory meant that the time we spent on the island was not in vain. The ANC had achieved its goals despite the hardship and deprivations we underwent during the Struggle.”
In the early days, the conditions on the island were unfavourable. These included hostility between the ANC and the PAC, and the harsh conditions of working early morning shifts breaking stones in the stone quarry in freezing conditions, where the prisoners were regularly assaulted by the prison guards.
“We had insufficient clothing and bedding, yet we were able to survive those days despite the attempts by the warders to break our spirits,” Ebrahim recalled.
“Many of us fell ill due to the harsh conditions, but no medical treatment was provided. Our food was insufficient, too, and if the warders didn’t like you, they withheld food as a form of punishment.”
But insted of breaking the spirit of the cadres, they decided to fight back by complaining to higher authorities and visitors, as well as resorting to hunger strikes. The Soweto Uprising of June 1976 saw the ANC political prisoners on the island joined by younger political prisoners who had started off as stone throwers but soon became politicised by the veterans after extensive political education, eventually leaving well seasoned politicially.
Ebrahim’s more positive memories of his incarceration are due to conditions improving on the island. “We were eventually allowed to play sport and immediately formed teams. “There was also the feeling of camaraderie even when there had been political antagonism between the older generation of prisoners and the younger ones, as well as between the ANC and the PAC. But these were resolved through political discussions,” Ebrahim said.
When he was first released in 1979, he cried, and swore never to return. But that was not to be, and after the treason conviction 10 years later, he began his second period of imprisonment. He was freed, however, after two years in 1991
“The conditions had improved dramatically by then, after international exposure and condemnation. Prisoners were no longer being sent to the stone quarry to break rocks, and the food had improved. We were also allowed TVs and newspapers – a first,” he said. “I was suddenly informed by the prison authorities that I had an hour to pack my bags as I was being transferred to the mainland. However, ironically, I didn’t want to leave immediately. I wanted a chance to say goodbye to my comrades, but that was refused.”
Ebrahim was relieved that authorities had informed his family that he was being released. “A huge crowd of well-wishers and supporters had gathered at the dock to welcome me home. A twinge of sadness marred my joy when I thought of all the comrades still imprisoned on the island.
“The beauty of Cape Town was overwhelming, and it was amazing to walk around breathing the air as a free man and witness all the changes that had taken place over the years,” said Ebrahim. – ANA