5 August
'Why is it that no African in the history of this country has ever had the honour of being tried by his own kith and kin, by his own flesh and blood?' _ Nelson Mandela
After 17 months in hiding and following a tip off from the CIA, Nelson Mandela is arrested in Howick on this day in 1962. Charges with incitement to rebellion and leaving South Africa illegally, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Later, at the Rivonia Trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
‘During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. 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 which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’
Nelson Mandela, Rivonia Trial, Pretoria Supreme Court 20 April 1964
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