rivoniaunmasked

outlined in this blueprint and the way in which the Algerian rebellion and the Castro revolution in
Cuba were conducted.
In delineating the four areas where the revolution was to be triggered off, the organisers showed
considerable strategic talent and perspicacity. From both a geographical and a military point of view
these areas would be eminently suitable vantage points for the purposes envisaged by the
revolutionaries. Among other things the insurrectionists would gain control of the only railway line to
South West Africa. Furthermore, if they succeeded in occupying these four areas, it would mean that
the Witwatersrand, the heart of South Africa's industry, would be completely enclosed.
The burning question remains to be asked– that question which was to become the subject of such
pitched legal battles between the prosecution and the defence.
Drawing up a plan is one thing; putting it into execution another. One might argue that the entire
'Operation Mayibuye' might well have been nothing more than the brain child of a person or persons
afflicted with megalomania, who, lacking the means and the opportunity of putting their ideas into
effect, had to content themselves with Utopian visions of grandeur and victories on paper. Viewed in
this light, 'Operation Mayibuye' becomes just another science fiction horror story.
Dr Yutar thought differently. The documents prove, he submitted, that when the plot was
uncovered, the programme, or at least part of it, was already being put into execution; that the acts of
sabotage perpetrated over the past two years had been committed according to plan and upon
instructions from the High Command, and that they followed the pattern outlined in 'Operation
Mayibuye'; that the manufacture of specimen hand grenades had already begun; that guerrilla fighters
were being trained by experts, both at home and abroad, in preparation for the insurrection to come.
It is a clear, precise, systematic blueprint for murder, the State alleged.
It would not he feasible to attempt to give even a brief resumé of all the documents which served as
exhibits in the Rivonia case and which, in the Stafe's contention, are evidence of the execution of the
programme set out in 'Operation Mayibuye'.
"You have been appointed to perform the important task of organising units of Umkhonto We
Sizwe," reads the introduction to 'Speaker's Notes– a Brief Course of Training for Organisers', copies
of which were found in Goldreich's car and in one of the outside rooms at Lilliesleaf.
One must know about sabotage, its purpose, and one must know
about guerrilla warfare as a distinct form of warfare from
regular warfare...
The aims for which the war is being waged must be explained with
absolute clarity, as it is imperative and vital that the people
should understand and be convinced of the need to risk their
lives for their ultimate freedom. This, in fact, is the key to
the success of your recruiting campaign.
Dr Yutar said of 'Speaker's Notes' that it was a well-reasoned and logically presented lecture, the
preparation of which must have required careful study and research.
The points made in this manual concerning guerrilla vantage points, and more particularly the
remarks on the eventual switching over from guerrilla action to open warfare, clearly reflect the
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