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The State Vs. Nelson Mandela Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page iii The State vs. Nelson Mandela The Trial that Changed South Africa Joel Joffe Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page iv THE STATE VS. NELSON MANDELA A Oneworld Book First published by Oneworld Publications 2007 Reprinted 2008 First published in paperback 2009 Copyright © Joel Joffe 2007 All rights reserved Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN: 978–1–85168–638–4 Typeset by Jayvee, Trivandrum Printed and bound by T. J. International Ltd., Padstow, Cornwall Oneworld Publications 185 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7AR England www.oneworld-publications.com Learn more about Oneworld. Join our mailing list to find out about our latest titles and special offers at: www.oneworld-publications.com Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page v Dedication To Bram Fischer Q.C. who saved the lives of Nelson Mandela and his co-accused, but sacrificed his own life in the fight for freedom. All royalties after expenses will go to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page vi Pretoria Prison Republic of South Africa 11th May 1964 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN When our trial started in October 1963, none of us had ever met Joel Joffe before. All we knew of him at the time was that he had cancelled plans to leave South Africa in order to take up our defence. This alone, at a time when frenzied hysteria was being whipped up against us amongst the White population of this country, assured us that he was a man of rare courage and real devotion to the cause of justice. Since getting to know him, we realise how fully our first impressions have been justified. Today we know him both as a lawyer and a friend, and have the highest regard for him in both capacities. As the general behind the scenes of our defence, he has managed and marshalled this most complex case with understanding and skill. His judgement of the strength of our case, and of its weaknesses, has been keen and stated without hesitation. He has understood and accepted that, above all else, we would not compromise our beliefs or consciences for legal advantage; and in that understanding he has advised us along a course which we fully believe to have been politically correct, and legally so as well. As a friend, Joel has taken on himself services far beyond the call of a lawyer’s duty. He has assisted in all the personal and family problems that have beset us, as though our friendship had been long and close. Nothing has been too much trouble for him or fallen outside his concept of a lawyer’s responsibility to his client. We have come to admire and respect this quiet, courageous man, whose devotion to the cause of justice has been shown to be in the very highest tradition of his calling. We will be sorry indeed to end our close relationship with him. But we know that, wherever he is, wherever he may go, Joel’s legal brain and services will be at the call of those in need of justice and defence as it has been so fully and well at ours. THE RIVONIA ACCUSED: PRETORIA NR MANDELA GOVANMBEKI RAYMOND MHLABA WM SISULU AM KATHRADA A MOTSOALEDI D GOLDBERG L BERNSTEIN A MLANGENI Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page vii Contents Foreword viii Acknowledgements x Introduction xii 1. Arrests at Rivonia 1 2. Escape, the Accused and the Defence Team 6 3. Quashing the Indictment 41 4. The Trial Begins 58 5. The Case for the Prosecution 69 6. Unreliable Prosecution Witnesses 110 7. The Defence 145 8. Final Speeches and Verdict 227 Epilogue 266 The Indictment 272 Index 279 Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page viii Foreword Joel Joffe had the most extra-ordinary vantage point on the Rivonia Trial. His record of the trial, therefore, can take us inside the courtroom as well as into the corridors of the courtroom and prison cells. The State vs. Nelson Mandela is based on an intimate and deep grasp of what happened in court, the strategy and tactics that the accused and their defence team employed, the machina- tions of the prosecution and the security branch. It is a story told in a way that shall immerse the reader in the atmosphere of the time. The State vs. Nelson Mandela is a remarkable piece of contem- porary historical writing that will serve as one of the most reliable sources for understanding what happened at that trial and how we came to live to see democracy triumph in South Africa. The importance of this book is greater because there is no com- plete record of the Rivonia Trial, which was concluded on 12 June 1964. Fragments of the records are scattered in various public and private libraries and it is still uncertain that when all of these are put together they will make a complete record. Even if such a record were to be put together, Joel Joffe’s book will be an indis- pensable guide to anyone seeking to wade through those records. The stand we took during the Rivonia Trial was shaped by the knowledge that our struggle was morally just. We were aware that the cause we stood for would eventually triumph. We went into that courtroom determined to put Apartheid in the dock, even if this were to put our own lives in jeopardy. And we were assisted by viii the state vs. nelson mandela Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page ix a legal team led by the indomitable advocate Bram Fischer and managed by the tireless attorney Joel Joffe. The arrests that led to the Rivonia Trial were an enormous set- back to the struggle for freedom. The task of snatching victory from the jaws of death needed steadfastness from the accused, commitment and resourcefulness from our defence team, and a steady and growing stream of financial, moral and political sup- port from people within South Africa and the world at large, up to and including the United Nations. We write this Foreword with great gratitude and appreciation for all of these persons and institutions. Nelson Mandela. 11 June 2006 Foreword ix Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page x Acknowledgements Shortly after the Rivonia Trial, I left South Africa to settle in London. While looking for a job I had some free time and decided to write a book about the trial as a tribute to Nelson Mandela and his fellow accused, all of whom I expected to die while in prison on Robben Island and Pretoria Central jail. My objective was to ensure that their incredible courage and integrity in their trial should be remembered by future generations. As it turned out, I was quite wrong and happily they all survived Robben Island and did not need me to ensure that they were remembered. Being a lawyer, what I wrote was accurate but needed livening up. Remembering that Lionel (Rusty) Bernstein, Accused Number 6, had been the propagandist for the National African Congress prior to his arrest, I sent the draft to him for comment. From then on both our memories fail us. Rusty remembered work- ing on the draft but not exactly what he did to it. I, on re-reading the book, do not recognise much of the writing as my own and think Rusty must have substantially rewritten it, but he remained unconvinced. On further reflection, I am satisfied that Rusty, who has since died, was the co-author of this book. Having written the book in 1965, I took no steps to publish it as the Accused were all still alive. However, after Nelson Mandela was released in 1990, friends who had seen the manuscript encouraged Mayibuye Books to publish it. I then lost track of sales of the book as I had waived any royal- ties due to me. Out of the blue in September 2002, I received a letter from a lively New York attorney, Ann M. Schneider, who x the state vs. nelson mandela Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page xi had just returned from Robben Island where she had picked up a copy of the book at the Robben Island Bookshop. She thought the book was important and offered to help get it published. She wasted no time and, fortunately for me, found the Literary Agent, Frances Goldin, who liked the book and worked incredibly hard to find a publisher, eventually tying up a contract with Oneworld Publications, to whom I am indebted for their support and advice. I am also indebted to the late Edelgard Nkobi-Goldberg for producing the German version of the book and providing the photographs in the plate section. That the book has now been republished is entirely due to Ann and Frances to whom I am most grateful. I also thank my wife Vanetta and my PA Elizabeth Smith for their support. Swindon, England April 2007 Acknowledgements xi Prelims.096 17/04/2007 1:37 PM Page xii Introduction Mac Maharaj Minister of Transport 1994 to 1999, and a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress 1995–2000 From prisoner to president: Nelson Mandela has become part of the warp and weft of the chronicle of South Africa’s negotiated transition from apartheid to democracy. His role has been so crucial that the idea of such a transition without Mandela is almost unthinkable.
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