An Introduction to the Rivonia Trial
For the last five years or more, my life has revolved around a South African court case from 1963-64. The case was known as the Rivonia trial due to the location of the arrests of many of the defendants at the Liliesleaf Farmhouse in the Rivonia suburb of Johannesburg. While many of the men on trial were well known anti-apartheid activists at the time, one name remains a global icon – Nelson Mandela. When I started my thesis, several of the defendants and the legal team were still living, but this year we lost the final two defendants as well as the remaining member of the defence team who represented all bar one of the men on trial. [1] To me this marks the point where the events that I have been studying truly become history, as those most integrally involved are now gone. The main aim of this post is to bring to light, to hopefully a few more people, the names of the other men who were on trial for their lives alongside Nelson Mandela, as well as the men who defended the