The Rivonia trial

1963-1964
The Rivonia Trial 1963-1964
Months before the Rivonia raid, in August 1962, Nelson Mandela had already been captured
by the police. He had been sentenced for travelling outside South Africa without a passport.
At the time of the Rivonia raid, Mandela had been in prison for over eight months. He already
had a growing international reputation and the ANC used the trial to win worldwide support
and attention.
At the Rivonia Trial, there were eleven accused, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu,
Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Ahmed Kathrada, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis
Goldberg, Lionel Bernstein, Bob Hepple and James Kat They were charged and tried.
After the Rivonia Trial, organised resistance to apartheid within South Africa slowed down as
many of the anti-apartheid leaders were in jail or in exile. By 1964 the police had succeeded
in ruthlessly crushing almost all of the internal resistance of the liberation movements. New
repressive laws were passed which made South Africa a police state.
It was only in the 1970s that a new movement called Black Consciousness led to renewed
resistance, which exploded in Soweto in 1976. You will learn more about
1976: Soweto uprising Unit 1
• Causes: The Black Consciousness Movement the 1970s
• A new movement called Black Consciousness (or BC) began. The BC movement was led by a man from
the Eastern Cape called Steve Biko. Biko was inspired by some of Robert Sobukwe's ideas. Black
Consciousness encouraged all black South Africans to recognise their human dignity and self-worth.
• The Black Consciousness Movement was an understanding that black liberation would not only come
from political changes, but also from psychological changes in the minds of black people themselves.
It was not enough just to believe in freedom and fight for freedom. To take real power, black people
had to believe in themselves and the value of their blackness.
• Whites could offer support for political change, but could not lead or belong to the Black
Consciousness Movement. Black people first had to gain psychological physical and political power for
themselves, before their organisations, like the BC Movement, could truly become non-racial.
• For Biko, black South Africans included people classified as Indians' and coloureds. He said that all
those classified 'non-white' were oppressed by apartheid. The apartheid government was stronger if
the oppressed were divided among themselves. In the 1970s the Black Consciousness Movement
spread from university campuses into urban black townships throughout South Africa. BC was a
movement, and not an organisation, which meant that people of different political parties supported
its ideas.
Biko was banned in 1973
• Meaning that he was not allowed to speak to more than one person at a time, was restricted
to certain areas, and could not make speeches in public. It was forbidden to quote anything he
said in speeches or simple conversations, or to mention him at all.
• In spite of the repression of the apartheid government, Biko and the Black Consciousness
Movement played a large role in inspiring the student leaders of the protests, which led to the
Soweto uprising on 16 June 1976.Afrikaans as a medium of instruction On the morning of 16
June 1976, 20 000 school children in Soweto went on a protest march. They were protesting
against having to use Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in arithmetic and social studies at
school.
• Bantu Education In 1976, there was a great deal of discontent about the poor facilities in
schools for black children. There was a shortage of classrooms, and a lack of qualified teachers
Pupil-to-teacher ratios were as high as 70 pupils to one teacher. The apartheid government
spent far more on education for white children, than on education for black children. Ten times
more was spent annually on each white school child than was spent on a black school child.
The role of the ANC and Radio
Freedom In the early 1970s
• Many young people learnt about the ideas of the African National Congress by listening to
shortwave radio broadcasts on Radio Freedom. Radio Freedom was broadcast from Tanzania
• The independence of Angola and Mozambique
Angola and Mozambique were white-ruled Portuguese colonies. These Portuguese colonies
became independent countries in 1973 and 1974. The introduction of black majority rule in
countries so close to South Africa's borders, gave South Africans a sense of optimism. The new
governments in Mozambique and Angola supported the freedom struggle against apartheid in
South Africa.
• The PAC underground in Soweto
Zephania (Zeph) Mothopeng was detained in 1976. He was charged and sentenced to 15 years in
jail in 1979, for trying to overthrow the government. He was 66 years old. He was charged with
having recruited and sent men out of the country for military training and with being involved in
the student unrest of 1976.Zephania (Zeph) Mothopeng organised the PAC underground
activities in many of the Witwatersrand townships.
Unit 2: Leaders
• Although he did not directly take part in the Soweto uprising, Steve Biko's BG idea motivated students. There
were many student leaders in Soweto in 1976. Here we will focus on just one remarkable young man.
Teboho 'Tsietsi' Mashinini
Teboho Mashinini was nicknamed Tsietsi' which means "trouble' or problems inSesotho. In 1971 he became a
student at Morris Isaacson High. Mashinini was excellent leader, a passionate reader, a hard-working student,
and the chairperson of the debating team at his school. Abram Onkgopotse Tiro taught Mashinini at Morris
Isaacson High. Tiro, a Black Consciousness leader, had a large influence developing Mashinini's political thinking.
On 13th June 1976, about 500 Soweto students met at the Orlando Donaldson Community Hall. They discussed
ways to challenge their inferior Bantu Education At this meeting, the students decided to hold a peaceful protest
march on 16 June against the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. The students set up the
Soweto Students Representative Council, and elected Mashinini as their leader. The SSRC began to organise the
campaign for 16 June.
After June 16th, Mashinini became the police's number one target for arrest. He fled into exile in
Botswana.Tsietsi went into exile and died in the city of Conakry, in Guinea in 1990, a month before he was due to
return home. His body was brought back to Soweto, where he was buried.
Unit 3: Events of 16 June
• Soweto stands for South West Township, and is on the south-west of
Johannesburg. It was a township set up by the apartheid government
for black Africans to live in.On the morning of 16 June 1976. 20 000
school children in Soweto went on a protest march.
Shooting starts
• The march started off peacefully. The police opened fire on the
protesting students. The media often name Hector Pieterson as the first
child to be shot by police. However, another boy, 15 year-old Hastings
Ndlovu, was in fact the first child to be shot, but there were no
photographers on the scene at the time of his death, and his name did
not become well known.
A very famous photograph
• Photographs were taken of Hector Pieterson just after he had been
shot. The image of the dying Hector Pieterson, a thirteen year-old boy
from Orlando High was taken by a newspaper photographer called
Sam Nzima. The photograph was published all over the world.
• It is often said that the photograph taken by Sam Nzima of the dead
body of Hector Pieterson is iconic. An iconic image is symbolic. It
represents something much greater than the image appears on the
surface. In this case, the picture of Hector Pieterson symbolises the
whole liberation movement.
Famous Photograph
Unit 4: Spiralling events that
followed throughout the country
• Chaos broke loose throughout the whole of Soweto after June 16th. Within
the following week, at least 176 people had died. Within the next few
months, the protests and clashes with the police had spread to 160 black
townships all over South Africa, 1976 was a turning point in South African
history.
• Increased government repression -The apartheid government increased its
repression. The Internal Security Amendment Act replaced the Suppression
of Communism Act.
• The new act gave more powers to the Minister of Justice and included the
declaration of unlawful organisations, prohibition of publications, prohibition
of attendance at gatherings, the restriction of persons to certain areas,
detention of persons in custody and witnesses.
The death of Steve Biko
• The government detained Steve Biko without trial for a few months in
1976. In 1977 Biko was arrested again. Within eighteen days of his
arrest, he was dead. According to the officer in charge, there was a
scuffle... Mr Biko hit his head against a wall. It was later proved that
he was brutally tortured. News of his terrible death spread quickly
across the world. It caused a worldwide outcry and he became a
martyr and symbol of resistance against apartheid.
1990: Release of Nelson Mandela and the unbanning
of liberation movements Events leading to the 1994
election (in broad outline) Unit 1: Internal resistance
and repression in the 1980s
Reforms made by the apartheid government.
• In the 1980s, the apartheid government made small changes to the apartheid laws, because they wanted to
try to stop Back resentment. They introduced a number of gradual forms in the hope of controlling and
stopping the unrest. the reforms did not offer much real change: new words were used for old racist
policies.
• The government gave a number of the Bantustans their independence. They hoped to create a group of
black leaders in the Bantustans who would be loyal to the government. In business, there was an attempt
to create a black middle class which would offer black people an opportunity for wealth and comfort. The
government hoped they would also be loyal supporters. African trade unions were recognised, which
meant that they could now fight legally for the rights of black workers. A new parliamentary system was
introduced-the Tricameral parliament which created a parliament of three chambers. Each group, whites,
coloureds' and Indians was able to vote for a separate chamber. The white parliament, however, still held all
the power. Black South Africans were expected to be citizens of the Bantustans, and were still refused the
right to vote.
• The unrest that had begun with the Soweto Uprising in 1976 began to deepen in the 1980s.Resistance
intensified and became more organised. The United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed, to protest against
the Tricameral Parliament. The UDF was a non-racial alliance of local and community organisations. Its
slogan was 'All, here and now... we want all our rights, we want them here and we want them now.'
Government repression of
resistance
• The government introduced a policy of repression in the hope of stamping out all resistance to
its laws. The South African government used its army and police to stop resistance. In black
townships, those who were believed to be collaborators with the apartheid regime were killed.
• The government introduced very harsh measures to control the growing unrest. Anti-apartheid
organisations were banned (they were not allowed to exist anymore), and their leaders were
imprisoned. Many people were placed in detention. This meant they were put into prison
without trial. Detainees were often tortured in prison, and many of them died. The
government always claimed that detainees had died as a result of suicide or strange accidents,
such as falling down a flight of stairs or through a window. The government declared a State of
Emergency. The police were given wide powers.
• The townships were patrolled by the army, which only intensified the anger of black people.
The ANC-in-exile called for the people to make the townships ungovernable! The youth took to
the streets, protesting against local township councils and the presence of troops in the
townships.
Unit 2:External pressure on the
apartheid regime 1980s
• The international community used trade sanctions to put pressure on
the apartheid state. Between 1970 and 1984, foreign investment
dropped by 30%. Barclays Bank in Britain sold Its South African assets.
International anti-apartheid groups put more pressure on the South
African government by attempting to isolate it from the rest of the
world. Protest action led to South Africa's exclusion from Olympic
participation and international sport. There were also consumer
boycotts, and academic and cultural boycotts. Musicians were
encouraged not to perform in South Africa.
Activity
• Complete the following sentences
• a) the most interesting thing I have learnt in this unit was…..
• b) the thing I am most interested in learning about is…….
• c) Explain why you think students were not happy with the Bantu
education.
• d) What role do you think radio fm played for the people who lived in
South Africa?
• Write a short essay in which you explain the reasons why Soweto
upraising took place in 1976.