Arrest and rivonia trial 1962 1964

On 5 August 1962, police captured Mandela along with Cecil Williams near Howick.A large number of groups have been accused of having tipped off the police about Mandelas whereabouts including Mandelas host in Durban GR Naidoo, white members of the South African Communist Party, and the CIA, but Mandela considered none of these connections to be credible and instead attributes his arrest to his own carelessness in concealing his movements. Of the CIA link in particular, Mandelas official biographer Anthony Sampson believes that the claim cannot be substantiated.Jailed in Johannesburgs Marshall Square prison, he was charged with inciting workers strikes and leaving the country without permission. Representing himself with Slovo as legal advisor, Mandela intended to use the trial to showcase the ANCs moral opposition to racism while supporters demonstrated outside the court. Moved to Pretoria, where Winnie could visit him, in his cell he began correspondence studies for a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London. His hearing began on 15 October, but he disrupted proceedings by wearing a traditional kaross, refusing to call any witnesses, and turning his plea of mitigation into a political speech. Found guilty, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment, as he left the courtroom, supporters sang Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika.I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. Rivonia Trial Speech, 1964.

On 11 July 1963, police raided Liliesleaf Farm, arresting those they found there and uncovering paperwork documenting MKs activities, some of which mentioned Mandela. The Rivonia Trial began at Pretoria Supreme Court on 9 October, with Mandela and his comrades charged with four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the government. Their chief prosecutor was Percy Yutar, who called for them to receive the death penalty.Judge Quartus de Wet soon threw out the prosecutions case for insufficient evidence, but Yutar reformulated the charges, presenting his new case from December until February 1964, calling 173 witnesses and bringing thousands of documents and photographs to the trial.

With the exception of James Kantor, who was innocent of all charges, Mandela and the accused admitted sabotage but denied that they had ever agreed to initiate guerilla war against the government. They used the trial to highlight their political cause. At the opening of the defences proceedings, Mandela gave a threehour speech. That speech which was inspired by Castros History Will Absolve Me speech was widely reported in the press despite official censorship, and has been hailed as one of his greatest speeches. The trial gained international attention, with global calls for the release of the accused from such institutions as the United Nations and World Peace Council. The University of London Union voted Mandela to its presidency, and nightly vigils for him were held in St. Pauls Cathedral, London. The South African government generally deemed Mandela and his codefendants violent communist saboteurs, and on 12 June 1964, justice Quartus de Wet found Mandela and two of his coaccused guilty on all four charges, sentencing them to life imprisonment rather than death.