Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

4th c. 5th c. 6th c. 7th c. 8th c. 9th c. 10th c. 11th c. 12th c. 13th c. 14th c. 15th c. 16th c. 17th c. 18th c. 19th c. 20th c. 21st c.
Criminal Court Case
No. 253/1963 (The State
versus N. Mandela and Others)
Inscribed 2007
What is it
Court records of the Rivonia Trial of the top leadership
of the anti-apartheid organization, the African National
Congress (ANC), leading to the imprisonment of Nelson
Mandela. It includes documents and exhibits related to
the trial.
Why was it inscribed
As a result of this trial, the world’s attention was
drawn to the iniquities of the apartheid regime. This
strengthened the international movement against the
system, leading the United Nations to declare apartheid
‘a crime against humanity’.
Where is it
National Archives and Records Service of South Africa,
Pretoria, South Africa
From the start of the 20th century black people in South
Africa attempted to be recognized in their own country.
On 8 January 1912, a few hundred Africans assembled in
Bloemfontein, and the South African Native National
Congress (ANC) was founded. In the beginning their
protests were non-violent and included civil disobedience
campaigns and supporting strike actions. The South
African government, however, continued to adopt laws
that took away even the little freedom that black people
had. In 1955 the ANC adopted the Freedom Charter that
became the cornerstone of ANC policy and the guiding
principle of the Constitution of democratic South Africa.
On 21 March 1960 a crowd gathered outside the
Sharpeville police station when the police opened fire
and sixty-nine Africans were killed and 180 wounded. This
tragic event focused world attention on South Africa and
its policy of apartheid. Unrest grew in the country and
the government banned the ANC and the Pan Africanist
Congress (PAC) on 8 April 1960. This led to the establishment
in 1961 of Umkhonto we Sizwe and Poqo as the military
� Nelson Mandela at a rally in Soweto shortly after his release
from prison in 1990.
� The arrest warrant issued for Nelson Mandela ahead of his trial
in 1963.
wings of the ANC and PAC respectively. Nelson Mandela
was chosen as the leader of Umkhonto. He was arrested on
5 August 1962 after returning from an overseas trip and the
remaining leaders of Umkhonto were captured at Lilliesleaf
Farm, in Rivonia near Johannesburg, on 11 July 1963. Their
trial, known as the Rivonia Trial (Criminal Court Case No.
253/1963, called The State versus N. Mandela and Others,
heard in the Supreme Court of South Africa, Transvaal
Provincial Division), started in October 1963 and ended in
June 1964. Of the eleven accused one turned state evidence
and was released, eight were sentenced to life imprisonment
and two were released.
On 20 April 1964 Nelson Mandela read a statement from
the dock. He realized that this was a rare opportunity
Criminal Court Case No. 253/1963 (The State versus N. Mandela and Others) 525