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hated of all were the pass laws which Sharpeville massacring 69 people Upon his return, the military cam-
were used to limit the freedom of and wounding hundreds more, paign (which was largely ineffective)
movement. These laws, requiring many of them shot in the back. Grim began.
black people to carry passbooks and photographs of the dead and dying
to produce them on demand, were appeared in newspapers throughout Finally, on 5 August 1962 he was be-
rigorously enforced and every year the world. trayed and arrested. The authorities
thousands of people were punished charged him with inciting workers to
for infringing the law. During this same period, Mandela strike and with leaving the country
met and married his second wife, without proper travel documents; at
Up until this time the ANC had Winnie, a political activist in her this stage they did not know that he
opposed racism through peaceful own right. They had two daughters. was the military leader of the ANC!
and lawful means, but the leaders Despite his family commitments, the His trial took place in October 1962
now realised that it was left with no ANC decided that Mandela would and he was sentenced to five years in
choice. In 1952 the ANC sent a let- never return home but would go un- jail with hard labour. He was trans-
ter to Prime Minister Malan stating derground and organize resistance. ferred to Robben Island, which lies
that a campaign of defiance would He disguised himself as a garage me- just off the South African coast to
begin. As the membership of the chanic, a chauffeur, a window-clea- the west of Cape Town. Then in July
ANC soared, Mandela began to play ner, a tribal healer, a messenger, a 1963 the police discovered the secret
a key role in the organization of re- chef or a gardener as he drove around hideout at Rivonia and in one fell
sistance. When protests took place the country. He lived in various se- swoop captured the entire high com-
throughout the country, the police cret apartments, sometimes in white mand of the ANC and all its docu-
opened fire and the first deaths oc- people's houses, until the ANC dis- mentation. The ANC was destroyed
curred. Mandela realised that if the creetly established its headquarters in South Africa, but continued to
government was using violence, so at Liliesleaf Farm near Rivonia in the exist outside the country led by Oli-
could the ANC -- the time for pas- northern suburbs of Johannesburg. ver Tambo. Those arrested were
sive resistance was over. Like many Arthur Goldreich, a key white figure accused of sabotage and trying to
other racial leaders, he was arrested in the armed struggle, posed as the start a violent revolution, for which
for the first time. The government manager of the farm where Mandela, they could easily be sentenced to
attempted to stifle all opposition by
using the wide-ranging Suppression
of Communism Act to prevent Man-
dela from travelling and addressing
conferences.

In 1952 Mandela and Oliver Tambo
opened their law practice in offices
in Johannesburg. At first, they were
successful since black people flock-
ed to their door with their legal
problems. Mandela was not only
a successful lawyer with a family
life, and a key player in the struggle
against apartheid, but a keen boxer.
However, his commitment to the
ANC would eventually lead to the
failure of his first marriage and to
the collapse of his law practice.

At dawn on 5 December 1956 Man-
dela was arrested again, along with
156 leaders of the ANC, for plotting acting as his servant, plotted revolu- death. So, nine months into his five-
to overthrow the government, i.e. tion. Mandela became a legend and year sentence Mandela found him-
treason! It took four years for the before long there was another war- self back in court once again as one
prosecution to assemble its case, but rant for his arrest. of the accused in the Rivonia Trial.
finally, on 29 March 1961, the judge It was decided that the eight main
decided that there was no evidence It was also in 1961 that the ANC de- defendants would plead guilty. When
that the ANC had intended to over- cided to create a military wing with the defence stated its case, Mandela
throw the government and the trial Mandela in charge. In December of described the plight of black Africans
collapsed. that year, Mandela was smuggled who had no political rights. The ANC
out of South Africa to attend a confe- had turned to violence because the
It was in 1960 that the South Afri- rence in Ethiopia. After attending government had blocked every other
can police opened fire on a peace- the conference, he carried out a glo- avenue and had itself resorted to vio-
ful crowd of black protesters at bal tour to collect funds for the ANC. lence; it should be the government

History 41