dren, propelling Mandela to the forefront of a political battle that would see him being put on trial for treason and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela soon rose quickly through the ranks of the ANC and in 1950 was voted President of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and he took a seat on the ANC National Executive. After passing qualification exams to become a full-fledged attorney, Mandela and Oliver Tambo opened their own law firm, Mandela and Tambo, in downtown Johannesburg. Being the only <strong>Africa</strong>n-run law firm in the country, it soon became popular with aggrieved <strong>Africa</strong>n black people, often dealing with cases of police brutality. The firm soon got noticed by the South <strong>Africa</strong>n authorities and was forced to relocate to a remote location after their office permit was removed under the Group Areas Act – a cornerstone piece of apartheid legislation. Mandela had met many people across the political spectrum who were opposed to the South <strong>Africa</strong>n Government and was actively involved in mobilising the masses and publically protesting against the South <strong>Africa</strong>n authorities such as the Defiance Campaign. This led to him and other high profile ANC members being arrested and put on trial. On 5 December 1956, Mandela was arrested alongside most of the ANC Executive for "high treason" against the state and on 29 March 1961, after a six-year trial, the judges produced a verdict of not guilty, embarrassing the government. Inspired by Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, the armed wing of the ANC “Umkhonto we Sizwe” ("Spear of the Nation", abbreviated MK) was founded in 1961, with Mandela co-founding this wing with the long-time leader of the South <strong>Africa</strong>n Communist Party (SACP), Joe Slovo and Walter Sisulu. Interestingly, MK agreed to acts of sabotage to exert pressure on the South <strong>Africa</strong>n Government, by bombing military installations, power plants, telephone lines and transport links at night, when civilians were not present. Mandela stated that they chose sabotage not only because it was the least harmful action, but also "because it did not involve loss of life [and] it offered the best hope for reconciliation among the races afterwards." Soon after then ANC leader Albert Luthuli was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, MK publicly announced its existence with 57 bombings on 16 December 1961, followed by further attacks on New Year's Eve. The South <strong>Africa</strong>n Government, however, kept a close eye on the activities of the ANC and MK, and after raiding a property now famously known as Liliesleaf Farm in the Johannesburg suburb of Rivonia and arresting numerous high command figures of the ANC including Mandela, it resulted in South <strong>Africa</strong>’s foremost and famous trial starting on 9 October 1963. Mandela gave a now famous three-hour speech at the opening of the defence’s proceedings and the trial quickly gained international attention, with global calls for the release of all political prisoners from such institutions as the United Nations and World Peace Council. The South <strong>Africa</strong>n Government generally deemed Mandela and his co-defendants violent communist saboteurs, and on 12 June 1964, Justice Quartus de Wet found Mandela and two of his co-accused guilty on all four charges, sentencing them to life imprisonment rather than death, thus sealing the fate of his incarceration on Robben Island from 1964 until 1982. A NEW DAWN After spending 18 years in prison on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, a suburb of Cape Town in 1982 along with other senior ANC leaders. This was an attempt by the South <strong>Africa</strong>n Government to remove their influence on younger activists. However, with mounting international pressure and sanctions against South <strong>Africa</strong>, increased MK attacks in South <strong>Africa</strong> together with support from activists from both within and outside of South <strong>Africa</strong>, coupled with economic stagnation and a change of leadership within the South <strong>Africa</strong>n Government, and significant change was brought about when the conservative President P.W. Botha stepped down and was replaced by a more youthful Frederik Willem de Klerk (F.W de Klerk). With increasing local and international pressure for his release, the government participated in several talks between Mandela and F.W. de klerk at the helm of government. The result was positive in terms of Mandela’s release being finally announced - February 11, 1990 marking a special day in South <strong>Africa</strong>n history when Mandela’s release was announced. With it came the unbanning of the 76 | www.nomadafricamag.com | ...Celebrating the world’s richest continent | Issue 12
Nelson Mandela in his Law Office, 1952. Issue 12 | ...Celebrating the world’s richest continent | www.nomadafricamag.com | 77