1963 TRIAL

Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Rusty Bernstein, Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi and Jimmy Kantor appeared before Justice Quartus de Wet, the Judge-President of the Transvaal, charged with two counts of sabotage which, according to the state, specifically involved:

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 above 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 sympathisers in Algeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria, elsewhere.

Although he was referred to as Accused Number 1, Mandela had not been arrested at Liliesleaf. He had been serving a five-year-prison term on Robben Island at the time.

There was no shortage of drama. Eight of the accused were found guilty of sabotage – and with the frightening prospect of being sentenced to death looming over their clients, the defence, led by Tunisia and Bram Fischer, began setting out its case on April 20, 1964, with a statement from the dock by Mandela. Widely viewed as one of the great speeches of our time, Mandela ended his three-hour address with the following words: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic