Mandela Rivonia 1965

7/28/2019 Mandela Rivonia 1965

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"I am Prepared to Die"

Nelson Mandela's statement from the dockat the opening of the defence case in the Rivonia Trial

Pretoria Supreme Court ! #pril $%&

I am the First Accused.

I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for a number ofyears in partnership with Oliver ambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leavingthe country without a permit and for inciting people to go on stri!e at the end of "ay #$%#.

At the outset& I want to say that the suggestion made by the tate in its opening that the strugglein outh Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect. I have donewhatever I did& both as an individual and as a leader of my people& because of my e(perience inouth Africa and my own proudly felt African bac!ground& and not because of what any outsidermight have said.

In my youth in the rans!ei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days.Amongst the tales they related to me were those of wars fought by our ancestors in defence ofthe fatherland. he names of Dingane and Bambata& )intsa and "a!ana& *ungthi and Dalasile&"oshoeshoe and e!hu!huni& were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped thenthat life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and ma!e my own humble contributionto their freedom struggle. his is what has motivated me in all that I have done in relation to thecharges made against me in this case.

)aving said this& I must deal immediately and at some length with the *uestion of violence. omeof the things so far told to the +ourt are true and some are untrue. I do not& however& deny that Iplanned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of rec!lessness& nor because I have any love ofviolence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had

arisen after many years of tyranny& e(ploitation& and oppression of my people by the ,hites.

I admit immediately that I was one of the persons who helped to form -m!honto we iwe& andthat I played a prominent role in its affairs until I was arrested in August #$%/.

In the statement which I am about to ma!e I shall correct certain false impressions which havebeen created by tate witnesses. Amongst other things& I will demonstrate that certain of the actsreferred to in the evidence were not and could not have been committed by -m!honto. I will alsodeal with the relationship between the African 0ational +ongress and -m!honto& and with thepart which I personally have played in the affairs of both organiations. I shall deal also with thepart played by the +ommunist 1arty. In order to e(plain these matters properly& I will have toe(plain what -m!honto set out to achieve2 what methods it prescribed for the achievement ofthese ob3ects& and why these methods were chosen. I will also have to e(plain how I became

involved in the activities of these organiations.

I deny that -m!honto was responsible for a number of acts which clearly fell outside the policy ofthe organisation& and which have been charged in the indictment against us. I do not !now what

3ustification there was for these acts& but to demonstrate that they could not have been authoriedby -m!honto& I want to refer briefly to the roots and policy of the organiation.

I have already mentioned that I was one of the persons who helped to form -m!honto. I& and theothers who started the organiation& did so for two reasons. Firstly& we believed that as a result of


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During the Defiance +ampaign& the 1ublic afety Act and the +riminal 6aw Amendment Act werepassed. hese tatutes provided harsher penalties for offences committed by way of protestsagainst laws. Despite this& the protests continued and the A0+ adhered to its policy of non5violence. In #$8%& #8% leading members of the +ongress Alliance& including myself& were arrestedon a charge of high treason and charges under the uppression of +ommunism Act. he non5violent policy of the A0+ was put in issue by the tate& but when the +ourt gave 3udgement somefive years later& it found that the A0+ did not have a policy of violence. ,e were ac*uitted on allcounts& which included a count that the A0+ sought to set up a communist state in place of thee(isting regime. he 4overnment has always sought to label all its opponents as communists.his allegation has been repeated in the present case& but as I will show& the A0+ is not& andnever has been& a communist organiation.

In #$%> there was the shooting at harpeville& which resulted in the proclamation of a state ofemergency and the declaration of the A0+ as an unlawful organiation. "y colleagues and I&after careful consideration& decided that we would not obey this decree. he African people werenot part of the 4overnment and did not ma!e the laws by which they were governed. ,e believedin the words of the -niversal Declaration of )uman @ights& that 'the will of the people shall be thebasis of authority of the 4overnment'& and for us to accept the banning was e*uivalent toaccepting the silencing of the Africans for all time. he A0+ refused to dissolve& but instead wentunderground. ,e believed it was our duty to preserve this organiation which had been built upwith almost fifty years of unremitting toil. I have no doubt that no self5respecting ,hite politicalorganiation would disband itself if declared illegal by a government in which it had no say.

In #$%> the 4overnment held a referendum which led to the establishment of the @epublic.Africans& who constituted appro(imately > per cent of the population of outh Africa& were notentitled to vote& and were not even consulted about the proposed constitutional change. All of uswere apprehensive of our future under the proposed ,hite @epublic& and a resolution was ta!ento hold an All5In African +onference to call for a 0ational +onvention& and to organie massdemonstrations on the eve of the unwanted @epublic& if the 4overnment failed to call the+onvention. he conference was attended by Africans of various political persuasions. I was theecretary of the conference and undertoo! to be responsible for organiing the national stay5at5home which was subse*uently called to coincide with the declaration of the @epublic. As allstri!es by Africans are illegal& the person organiing such a stri!e must avoid arrest. I was chosento be this person& and conse*uently I had to leave my home and family and my practice and gointo hiding to avoid arrest.

he stay5at5home& in accordance with A0+ policy& was to be a peaceful demonstration. +arefulinstructions were given to organiers and members to avoid any recourse to violence. he4overnment's answer was to introduce new and harsher laws& to mobilie its armed forces& andto sendaracens& armed vehicles& and soldiers into the townships in a massive show of forcedesigned to intimidate the people. his was an indication that the 4overnment had decided torule by force alone& and this decision was a milestone on the road to -m!honto.

ome of this may appear irrelevant to this trial. In fact& I believe none of it is irrelevant because itwill& I hope& enable the +ourt to appreciate the attitude eventually adopted by the various personsand bodies concerned in the 0ational 6iberation "ovement. ,hen I went to 3ail in #$%/& thedominant idea was that loss of life should be avoided. I now !now that this was still so in #$%.

I must return to June #$%#. ,hat were we& the leaders of our people& to do; ,ere we to give in tothe show of force and the implied threat against future action& or were we to fight it and& if so&how;

,e had no doubt that we had to continue the fight. Anything else would have been ab3ectsurrender. Our problem was not whether to fight& but was how to continue the fight. ,e of the

A0+ had always stood for a non5racial democracy& and we shran! from any action which might
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drive the races further apart than they already were. But the hard facts were that fifty years ofnon5violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more repressive legislation&and fewer and fewer rights. It may not be easy for this +ourt to understand& but it is a fact that fora long time the people had been tal!ing of violence 5 of the day when they would fight the ,hiteman and win bac! their country 5 and we& the leaders of the A0+& had nevertheless alwaysprevailed upon them to avoid violence and to pursue peaceful methods. ,hen some of usdiscussed this in "ay and June of #$%#& it could not be denied that our policy to achieve anonracial tate by non5violence had achieved nothing& and that our followers were beginning tolose confidence in this policy and were developing disturbing ideas of terrorism.

It must not be forgotten that by this time violence had& in fact& become a feature of the outhAfrican political scene. here had been violence in #$8 when the women of Ceerust wereordered to carry passes2 there was violence in #$8= with the enforcement of cattle culling ine!hu!huniland2 there was violence in #$8$ when the people of +ato "anor protested againstpass raids2 there was violence in #$%> when the 4overnment attempted to impose Bantu

Authorities in 1ondoland. hirty5nine Africans died in these disturbances. In #$%# there had beenriots in ,armbaths& and all this time the rans!ei had been a seething mass of unrest.


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a. It was a mass political organiation with a political function to fulfil. Its members had3oined on the e(press policy of non5violence.

b. Because of all this& it could not and would not underta!e violence. his must be stressed.One cannot turn such a body into the small& closely !nit organiation re*uired forsabotage. 0or would this be politically correct& because it would result in membersceasing to carry out this essential activity9 political propaganda and organiation. 0or wasit permissible to change the whole nature of the organiation.

c. On the other hand& in view of this situation I have described& the A0+ was prepared todepart from its fifty5year5old policy of non5violence to this e(tent that it would no longerdisapprove of properly controlled violence. )ence members who undertoo! such activitywould not be sub3ect to disciplinary action by the A0+.

I say 'properly controlled violence' because I made it clear that if I formed the organiation I wouldat all times sub3ect it to the political guidance of the A0+ and would not underta!e any differentform of activity from that contemplated without the consent of the A0+. And I shall now tell the+ourt how that form of violence came to be determined.

As a result of this decision& -m!honto was formed in 0ovember #$%#. ,hen we too! thisdecision& and subse*uently formulated our plans& the A0+ heritage of non5violence and racial

harmony was very much with us. ,e felt that the country was drifting towards a civil war in whichBlac!s and ,hites would fight each other. ,e viewed the situation with alarm. +ivil war couldmean the destruction of what the A0+ stood for2 with civil war& racial peace would be moredifficult than ever to achieve. ,e already have e(amples in outh African history of the results ofwar. It has ta!en more than fifty years for the scars of the outh African ,ar to disappear. )owmuch longer would it ta!e to eradicate the scars of inter5racial civil war& which could not be foughtwithout a great loss of life on both sides;

he avoidance of civil war had dominated our thin!ing for many years& but when we decided toadopt violence as part of our policy& we realied that we might one day have to face the prospectof such a war. his had to be ta!en into account in formulating our plans. ,e re*uired a planwhich was fle(ible and which permitted us to act in accordance with the needs of the times2above all& the plan had to be one which recognied civil war as the last resort& and left the

decision on this *uestion to the future. ,e did not want to be committed to civil war& but wewanted to be ready if it became inevitable.

Four forms of violence were possible. here is sabotage& there is guerrilla warfare& there isterrorism& and there is open revolution. ,e chose to adopt the first method and to e(haust itbefore ta!ing any other decision.

In the light of our political bac!ground the choice was a logical one. abotage did not involve lossof life& and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be !ept to aminimum and& if the policy bore fruit& democratic government could become a reality. his is whatwe felt at the time& and this is what we said in our "anifesto


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goods from the industrial areas to reach the seaports on schedule& and would in the long run be aheavy drain on the economic life of the country& thus compelling the voters of the country toreconsider their position.

Attac!s on the economic life lines of the country were to be lin!ed with sabotage on 4overnmentbuildings and other symbols of apartheid. hese attac!s would serve as a source of inspiration to

our people. In addition& they would provide an outlet for those people who were urging theadoption of violent methods and would enable us to give concrete proof to our followers that wehad adopted a stronger line and were fighting bac! against 4overnment violence.

In addition& if mass action were successfully organied& and mass reprisals ta!en& we felt thatsympathy for our cause would be roused in other countries& and that greater pressure would bebrought to bear on the outh African 4overnment.

his then was the plan. -m!honto was to perform sabotage& and strict instructions were given toits members right from the start& that on no account were they to in3ure or !ill people in planningor carrying out operations. hese instructions have been referred to in the evidence of '"r. ' and'"r. C'.

he affairs of the -m!honto were controlled and directed by a 0ational )igh +ommand& whichhad powers of co5option and which could& and did& appoint @egional +ommands. he )igh+ommand was the body which determined tactics and targets and was in charge of training andfinance. -nder the )igh +ommand there were @egional +ommands which were responsible forthe direction of the local sabotage groups. ,ithin the framewor! of the policy laid down by the0ational )igh +ommand& the @egional +ommands had authority to select the targets to beattac!ed. hey had no authority to go beyond the prescribed framewor! and thus had no authorityto embar! upon acts which endangered life& or which did not fit into the overall plan of sabotage.For instance& -m!honto members were forbidden ever to go armed into operation. Incidentally&the terms )igh +ommand and @egional +ommand were an importation from the Jewish nationalunderground organiation Irgun Cvai 6eumi& which operated in Israel between #$77 and #$7=.

-m!honto had its first operation on #% December #$%#& when 4overnment buildings in

Johannesburg& 1ort


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Already scores of Africans had died as a result of racial friction. In #$/> when the famous leader&"asabala& was held in 1ort & si(ty5nine unarmed Africans died at harpeville.

)ow many more harpevilles would there be in the history of our country; And how many moreharpevilles could the country stand without violence and terror becoming the order of the day;

And what would happen to our people when that stage was reached; In the long run we feltcertain we must succeed& but at what cost to ourselves and the rest of the country; And if thishappened& how could blac! and white ever live together again in peace and harmony; hesewere the problems that faced us& and these were our decisions.


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Algeria are contained in


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such as "r. Bennett "ashiyana and "r. @eginald 0dubi did not hear of sabotage at their A0+meetings.

Another of the allegations in the indictment is that @ivonia was the head*uarters of -m!honto.his is not true of the time when I was there. I was told& of course& and !new that certain of theactivities of the +ommunist 1arty were carried on there. But this is no reason as I shall presently

e(plainE why I should not use the place.

I came there in the following manner9

#. As already indicated& early in April #$%# I went underground to organie the "ay generalstri!e. "y wor! entailed travelling throughout the country& living now in African townships&then in country villages and again in cities.

During the second half of the year I started visiting the 1ar!town home of Arthur4oldreich& where I used to meet my family privately. Although I had no direct politicalassociation with him& I had !nownArthur 4oldreichsocially since #$8=.

2. In October& Arthur 4oldreich informed me that he was moving out of town and offered me

a hiding place there. A few days thereafter& he arranged for "ichael )armel to ta!e me to@ivonia. I naturally found @ivonia an ideal place for the man who lived the life of anoutlaw. -p to that time I had been compelled to live indoors during the daytime and couldonly venture out under cover of dar!ness. But at 6iliesleafHfarm& @ivonia& I could livedifferently and wor! far more efficiently.

. For obvious reasons& I had to disguise myself and I assumed the fictitious name of David.In December& Arthur 4oldreich and his family moved in. I stayed there until I went abroadon ## January #$%/. As already indicated& I returned in July #$%/ and was arrested in0atal on 8 August.

7. -p to the time of my arrest& 6iliesleaf farm was the head*uarters of neither the African0ational +ongress nor -m!honto. ,ith the e(ception of myself& none of the officials ormembers of these bodies lived there& no meetings of the governing bodies were everheld there& and no activities connected with them were either organied or directed from

there. On numerous occasions during my stay at 6iliesleaf farm I met both the


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he ideological creed of the A0+ is& and always has been& the creed of African 0ationalism. It isnot the concept of African 0ationalism e(pressed in the cry& 'Drive the ,hite man into the sea'.he African 0ationalism for which the A0+ stands is the concept of freedom and fulfilment for the

African people in their own land. he most important political document ever adopted by the A0+is the 'Freedom +harter'. It is by no means a blueprint for a socialist state. It calls forredistribution& but not nationaliation& of land2 it provides for nationaliation of mines& ban!s& andmonopoly industry& because big monopolies are owned by one race only& and without suchnationaliation racial domination would be perpetuated despite the spread of political power. Itwould be a hollow gesture to repeal the 4old 6aw prohibitions against Africans when all goldmines are owned by


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his pattern of co5operation between communists and non5communists has been repeated in the0ational 6iberation "ovement of outh Africa. 1rior to the banning of the +ommunist 1arty& 3ointcampaigns involving the +ommunist 1arty and the +ongress movements were accepted practice.

African communists could& and did& become members of the A0+& and some served on the0ational& 1rovincial& and local committees. Amongst those who served on the 0ational


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societies in this country. he land& then the main means of production& belonged to the tribe.here were no rich or poor and there was no e(ploitation.

It is true& as I have already stated& that I have been influenced by "ar(ist thought. But this is alsotrue of many of the leaders of the new independent tates. uch widely different persons as4andhi& 0ehru& 0!rumah& and 0asser all ac!nowledge this fact. ,e all accept the need for some

form of socialism to enable our people to catch up with the advanced countries of this world andto overcome their legacy of e(treme poverty. But this does not mean we are "ar(ists.

Indeed& for my own part& I believe that it is open to debate whether the +ommunist 1arty has anyspecific role to play at this particular stage of our political struggle. he basic tas! at the presentmoment is the removal of race discrimination and the attainment of democratic rights on the basisof the Freedom +harter. In so far as that 1arty furthers this tas!& I welcome its assistance. Irealie that it is one of the means by which people of all races can be drawn into our struggle.

From my reading of "ar(ist literature and from conversations with "ar(ists& I have gained theimpression that communists regard the parliamentary system of the ,est as undemocratic andreactionary. But& on the contrary& I am an admirer of such a system.

he "agna +arta& the 1etition of @ights& and the Bill of @ights are documents which are held inveneration by democrats throughout the world.

I have great respect for British political institutions& and for the country's system of 3ustice. I regardthe British 1arliament as the most democratic institution in the world& and the independence andimpartiality of its 3udiciary never fail to arouse my admiration.

he American +ongress& that country's doctrine of separation of powers& as well as theindependence of its 3udiciary& arouses in me similar sentiments.

I have been influenced in my thin!ing by both ,est and


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On my return to the @epublic& I made a strong recommendation to the A0+ that we should notconfine ourselves to Africa and the ,estern countries& but that we should also send a mission tothe socialist countries to raise the funds which we so urgently needed.

I have been told that after I was convicted such a mission was sent& but I am not prepared toname any countries to which it went& nor am I at liberty to disclose the names of the organiations

and countries which gave us support or promised to do so.

As I understand the tate case& and in particular the evidence of '"r. '& the suggestion is that-m!honto was the inspiration of the +ommunist 1arty which sought by playing upon imaginarygrievances to enrol the African people into an army which ostensibly was to fight for Africanfreedom& but in reality was fighting for a communist state. 0othing could be further from the truth.In fact the suggestion is preposterous. -m!honto was formed by Africans to further their strugglefor freedom in their own land. +ommunists and others supported the movement& and we onlywish that more sections of the community would 3oin us.

Our fight is against real& and not imaginary& hardships or& to use the language of the tate1rosecutor& 'so5called hardships'. Basically& we fight against two features which are the hallmar!sof African life in outh Africa and which are entrenched by legislation which we see! to have

repealed. hese features are poverty and lac! of human dignity& and we do not need communistsor so5called 'agitators' to teach us about these things.

outh Africa is the richest country in Africa& and could be one of the richest countries in the world.But it is a land of e(tremes and remar!able contrasts. he whites en3oy what may well be thehighest standard of living in the world& whilst Africans live in poverty and misery. Forty per cent ofthe Africans live in hopelessly overcrowded and& in some cases& drought5stric!en @eserves&where soil erosion and the overwor!ing of the soil ma!es it impossible for them to live properly offthe land. hirty per cent are labourers& labour tenants& and s*uatters on white farms and wor!and live under conditions similar to those of the serfs of the "iddle Ages. he other > per centlive in towns where they have developed economic and social habits which bring them closer inmany respects to white standards. ?et most Africans& even in this group& are impoverished by lowincomes and high cost of living.

he highest5paid and the most prosperous section of urban African life is in Johannesburg. ?ettheir actual position is desperate. he latest figures were given on /8 "arch #$%7 by "r. +arr&"anager of the Johannesburg 0on5


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ac*uiring a greater s!ill at his wor! and thus higher wages. As far as Africans are concerned&both these avenues of advancement are deliberately curtailed by legislation.

he present 4overnment has always sought to hamper Africans in their search for education.One of their early acts& after coming into power& was to stop subsidies for African school feeding."any African children who attended schools depended on this supplement to their diet. his was

a cruel act.

here is compulsory education for all white children at virtually no cost to their parents& be theyrich or poor. imilar facilities are not provided for the African children& though there are some whoreceive such assistance. African children& however& generally have to pay more for their schoolingthan whites. According to figures *uoted by the outh African Institute of @ace @elations in its#$% 3ournal& appro(imately 7> per cent of African children in the age group between seven tofourteen do not attend school. For those who do attend school& the standards are vastly differentfrom those afforded to white children. In #$%>5%# the per capita 4overnment spending on Africanstudents at tate5aided schools was estimated at @#/.7%. In the same years& the per capitaspending on white children in the +ape 1rovince which are the only figures available to meE was@#77.8. Although there are no figures available to me& it can be stated& without doubt& that thewhite children on whom @#77.8 per head was being spent all came from wealthier homes than

African children on whom @#/.7% per head was being spent.

he *uality of education is also different. According to the Bantu African children in the whole of outh Africa passed their Junior +ertificate in #$%/& and in thatyear only %/ passed matric. his is presumably consistent with the policy of Bantu educationabout which the present 1rime "inister said& during the debate on the Bantu


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supremacy entrenches this notion. "enial tas!s in outh Africa are invariably performed byAfricans. ,hen anything has to be carried or cleaned the white man will loo! around for anAfrican to do it for him& whether the African is employed by him or not. Because of this sort ofattitude& whites tend to regard Africans as a separate breed. hey do not loo! upon them aspeople with families of their own2 they do not realie that they have emotions 5 that they fall inlove li!e white people do2 that they want to be with their wives and children li!e white people wantto be with theirs2 that they want to earn enough money to support their families properly& to feedand clothe them and send them to school. And what 'house5boy' or 'garden5boy' or labourer canever hope to do this;

1ass laws& which to the Africans are among the most hated bits of legislation in outh Africa&render any African liable to police surveillance at any time. I doubt whether there is a single

African male in outh Africa who has not at some stage had a brush with the police over his pass.)undreds and thousands of Africans are thrown into 3ail each year under pass laws.


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his then is what the A0+ is fighting. heir struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of theAfrican people& inspired by their own suffering and their own e(perience. It is a struggle for theright to live.

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have foughtagainst white domination& and I have fought against blac! domination. I have cherished the ideal

of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with e*ualopportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be& it is an ideal forwhich I am prepared to die.

On 11 June 1964, at the conclusion of the trial, Mandela and seven others - Walter Sisulu, GovanMbeki, Ra!ond Mhlaba, "lias Motsoaledi, #ndre$ Mlan%eni, #h!ed &athrada and 'enisGoldber% - $ere convicted( Mandela $as found %uilt on four char%es of sabota%e and like theothers $as sentenced ro life i!)rison!ent(

Amadela!ufa9those who are prepared to ma!e sacrifices.

aracenarmoured vehicles9 British5made military troop carriers.

tate witnessesin the trial whose names were withheld for their protection.

Arthur 4oldreichwas among those arrested in connection with the @ivonia case. 6ater he andthree others in custody escaped from 3ail by bribing a guard& and fled the country.

6iliesleafwas the name of the farm in the district of @ivonia on the northern outs!irts ofJohannesburg where the arrests too! place. At the time it was let to Arthur 4oldreich.

he Junior +ertificate e(amination was generally ta!en by white children at the age of #8 and

they could not normally leave school before this. "atriculationwas ta!en two years later and*ualified students for higher education. he educational system& however& ensured that very few

Africans reached Junior +ertificate level& so that what represented a basic standard for whiteswas one of achievement for Africans.

Documents

Mandela Rivonia 1965