eBook

Saving Nelson Mandela : the Rivonia trial and the fate of South Africa

Broun, Kenneth S

2012

Overview

When South Africa's apartheid government charged Nelson Mandela with planning its overthrow in 1963, most observers feared that he would be sentenced to death. But the support he and his fellow activists in the African National Congress received during his trial not only saved his life, but also enabled him to save his country. This book recreates the trial—called the “Rivonia” Trial after the Johannesburg suburb where police seized Mandela. Based upon interviews with many of the case's primary figures and portions of the trial transcript, the book situates readers inside the courtroom at the imposing Palace of Justice in Pretoria. Here, the trial unfolds through a dramatic narrative that captures the courage of the accused and their defense team, as well as the personal prejudices that colored the entire trial. The Rivonia trial had no jury and only a superficial aura of due process, combined with heavy security that symbolized the apartheid government's system of repression. The book shows how outstanding advocacy, combined with widespread public support, in fact backfired on apartheid leaders, who sealed their own fate. Despite his twenty-seven-year incarceration, Mandela's ultimate release helped move his country from the racial tyranny of apartheid toward democracy.

• Publisher: Oxford University Press,Oxford University Press, Incorporated
• Subject: 1918 / 1961-1994 / History / Mandela, Nelson / Mandela, Nelson, 1918- -- Trials, litigation, etc / Modern History (1700 to 1945) / Rivonia Trial, Pretoria, South Africa, 1964 / South Africa / South Africa -- History -- 1961-1994 / Trials (Political crimes and offenses) / Trials (Political crimes and offenses) -- South Africa / Trials, litigation, etc
• ISBN: 0199740224, 9780199740222