Treason Trial & Rivonia Trial Flashcards
(20 cards)
What was the response of the Apartheid regime to the Freedom Charter?
- Crackdown
- Led to Treason Trial
- Tried for high treason that dragged on for 5 years until 1961
What event initiated the lead up to the Treason Trial?
- 1955 police announced their suspicion that treason was being committed when the Freedom Charter was read and accepted
- Names and addresses of those who were present were taken down
- 1956 all 156 attendees arrested (including ANC leaders)
What was the outcome of the Treason Trial?
- Weak case against defendants
- Strong and skillful defence lawyers
- 1957 onwards defendants were released for lack of evidence
- 30 remained
- 1959 tried again and found ‘not guilty’ in 1961
What did the regime fail to prove after the Treason Trial?
- That Mandela and the other defendants had been conspiring to overthrow the state by force
- That they were trying to establish a communist state
What was the main political consequence of the Treason Trial for the ANC?
- Leaders so preoccupied by the need to defend themselves
- Political vacuum created which the PAC tried to fill
What personal consequences did Mandela suffer due to the Treason Trial?
- Legal practice of him and Tambo collapsed
- Mandela’s marriage collapsed
In what way did the Treason Trial danger the ANC leadership more?
- Regime determined to hang them
- Regime believed it had the evidence to do so
What happened in 1963?
- 9 ANC leaders arrested and key documents were seized at Liliesleaf Farm
- Security forces elated as they caught the ANC red handed
- Led to Rivonia Trial
What did the documents at Liliesleaf reveal?
- Clear link between MK and Mandela
- Plans of ‘Mayibuye’ that was undeniable proof of treason
What was operation ‘Mayibuye’?
- Armed ANC invasion of South Africa from a foreign base
Who did the regime choose as chief prosecutor in the Rivonia Trial and why?
- Percy Yutar
- Orthodox (traditional/conservative) Jew
- He would do his absolute best against the ANC and Jewish communists on trial
Who did the regime choose as the judge in the Rivonia Trial and why?
- Quartus de Wet
- Maximise chances of securing a guilty verdict
- A death sentence would follow
Why was the regime disappointed about what happened during the Rivonia Trial?
- They thought that handpicking the chief prosecutor and judge would put the odds in their favour
- Many ANC leaders were lawyers
- ANC knew how to convert the courtroom into political theatre
What did Mandela do in the Rivonia Trial?
- Exploited the regulation that allowed him to speak without interruption
- Delivered a famous four-hour defence of his and the ANC’s beliefs and actions
- For the benefit of domestic and international press
What did Sisulu do in the Rivonia Trial?
- Endured five days of cross-examination
- Evaded the traps set for him
- Stuck to his argument that Operation ‘Mayibuye’ was a last resort and not an active plan that the ANC ever intended to carry out
What is special about South Africa’s judiciary?
- Has a tradition of an independent judiciary
- Not influenced by external pressures
What was the verdict of the Rivonia Trial?
- Quartus de Wet found the defendants guilt of sabotage but not high treason
- Accepted their argument that the plan was not active
What happened to the ANC leaders after the Rivonia Trial?
- Transported to Robben Island
- Life sentence
To what extent was this sequence of events significant?
- Hugely significant because of what it made possible afterwards
- Crucial in the dismantling of Apartheid
What was the international reaction of the outcome of the Rivonia Trial?
- Verdict condemned
- Times editorial spoke for many, declaring that the regime was the real guilty party
