In 1963 South African authorities discovered incriminating documents and illegal weapons at the headquarters of Umkhonto we Sizwe, a group Mandela had helped found. Facing the death penalty, Mandela gave this speech at his trial. His argument turns on the idea that the legal and nonviolent means that black South Africans had used to struggle for years against the oppressive apartheid system had been ineffective. A more militant approach, including forms of violence, had become necessary in Mandela's view.
He explains that he is not a communist, but also discusses how communists have been strong supporters of black South Africans in their struggle for freedom. Rather, he decided to support violent political acts after serious reflection on the oppression of black South Africans by their government and the reality that peaceful resistance had not helped change the situation.
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He explains that South Africa's system of white supremacy was so repressive that black South Africans had no legal way to oppose it. In discussing Umkhonto, Mandela stresses that it is not a branch of the ANC and that the two groups are deliberately separate and distinct, although they have overlapping goals and many people belong to both organizations. Umkhonto members had become ready to consider various forms of violence, seeing this as a necessary step given the history and conditions of apartheid. It's worth noting that, despite Mandela's claims in the speech, in the post-apartheid era historians and journalists widely refer to Umkhonto as the militant wing of the ANC.
In the speech, Mandela particularly tries to show how much the ANC has tried to avoid resorting to violence. Its purpose was to protect the voting rights of nonwhite citizens in South Africa. By the 1940s it expanded its mission to negotiate peacefully for the elimination of apartheid. Mandela stresses that the ANC had a strict policy of nonviolent resistance to apartheid.
The government's response was to continually implement more laws that further restricted the rights of black South Africans. By 1960 black South Africans could not strike, demonstrate peacefully, or vote. Mandela joined the ANC in 1944. He states that the campaign had nothing to do with communism, and notes that the judge suspended the sentences because the Defiance Campaign had stressed discipline and nonviolence.
Citing the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mandela stresses the concept that government gets its authority and legitimacy from the people. He says that to accept the ANC ban would have meant «accepting the silencing of the African people for all time.» Thus the ANC chose to continue operating, now as an illegal organization. It worked to organize demonstrations and a general strike known as the National Stay-at-Home, although demonstrations and strikes by black South Africans had been made illegal.
He wants to make clear that the two groups are separate, but he also wants to show that Umkhonto acted with restraint and sought the consent of the ANC. Mandela explains that Umkhonto chose sabotage as the first and least dangerous tactic to attempt. By attacking symbolic targets, such as government buildings, the group could make a statement without bloodshed. The organization wanted to take action against the South African government without hurting people, damaging the economy, or turning public opinion against the anti-apartheid movement.
Mandela states that Umkhonto thus carried out its first operation by attacking government buildings. He stresses that these attacks, on empty buildings and power stations, show that Umkhonto did not seek to hurt or kill people in that operation. He then says that several other acts, including bombings and an attack on a police station, were not carried out by Umkhonto.
He explains that he and others decided it was time to train fighters who would be able to lead if guerilla warfare became necessary. He also notes the goal of training a group of men who would be ready to act as government and professional leaders when that became possible for black South Africans. To prepare for armed struggle, and to gain support from other Africans, Mandela went abroad. He describes how the ANC sent him to the Conference of the Pan-African Freedom Movement for Central, East, and Southern Africa, held in Ethiopia in 1962.
This conference was a meeting of leaders from across Africa. Mandela also discusses how he studied «the art of war and revolution» to learn how to organize and approach guerrilla warfare. He explains that he read from a wide array of sources, including writings by communist revolutionary leaders Mao Zedong and Che Guevara and texts about the Boer War, fought between Britain and Boer forces in South Africa. Boers, white colonists of Dutch and German descent who had settled in South Africa, used guerrilla tactics against the strong British army.
The evidence mostly deals with Mandela's contacts with other African leaders and statements about Umkhonto. Drawing on his training as a lawyer, Mandela discusses point by point the statements made by Witness X. Drawing on his training as a lawyer, Mandela establishes a clear timeline of his whereabouts and introduces counterevidence to refute some of the allegations made by Witness X. In his discussion, Mandela makes clear that he was glad to receive support from outside South Africa and explains again that Umkhonto is not a communist organization. He stresses that his goal, and Umkhonto's goal, is freedom and equality for all South Africans. He welcomes support from communist countries and activists but is not working to install communism in South Africa.
In acknowledging the parts of the evidence that are true, Mandela conveys that much of what Witness X accuses him of is actions and views that Mandela sees as reasonable.
He refers to bombings of private homes and asserts that they are in no way connected to Umkhonto.
He asserts that neither the ANC nor Umkhonto used the farm as a base. He says that he recommended that Goldreich join Umkhonto, but he does not know if this occurred. This part of Mandela's speech is likely an attempt to protect Goldreich and Umkhonto as much as possible. In the post-apartheid era, historians routinely describe the farm as a base of operations for Umkhonto, with the Communist Party paying the rent.
Goldreich is remembered as a major anti-apartheid figure and a key Umkhonto leader. He posed as the farm owner, and Mandela posed as his servant. In his 1994 autobiography, Mandela wrote of how he learned from Goldreich's knowledge and experience of guerilla warfare. Goldreich had been arrested during the raid but escaped from police custody and was eventually smuggled out of the country.
He argues that the charter does not call for the creation of a communist system in South Africa. The Freedom Charter envisioned such nationalization occurring when apartheid ended and a multiracial government was created. Mandela explains that nationalization is called for because under apartheid all industries are owned and controlled only by whites. Thus, white South Africans would continue to hold a dominant position even if apartheid ended because of their enormous economic power.
He notes that white communists have been the only political group in South Africa to treat black South Africans as equals and to fight for their rights. The communist bloc has supported anti-colonial independence movements in Africa and Asia, while Western powers frequently have not. Mandela then points out that cooperation between communists and noncommunists does not necessarily imply the goal of setting up a communist state. He notes that communists have supported revolutionary groups in countries such as Algeria and Indonesia, which did not go on to become communist states.
Turning to his views of communism, Mandela explains that while he does not agree with all of its goals and principles, he admires the communist ideal of a classless society. He has been influenced by Marxist thought and believes that South Africa must develop some form of socialism to help bring black South Africans out of the extreme poverty that they have lived in as a result of segregation and race-based laws. While he welcomes support from communists in the fight to end apartheid, Mandela stresses that he is not a communist. He particularly disagrees with the communist view that criticizes Western parliamentary systems.
Mandela expresses his great admiration for Britain's political system, calling the British Parliament «the most democratic institution in the world.» He also notes his enthusiasm for the United States Congress and the American system of separation of powers. Mandela's goal is to see freedom and democracy in South Africa.
The final section of Mandela's speech focuses on the hardships faced by black South Africans and on calls for racial justice. He defines the two main features of life for black South Africans as poverty and lack of human dignity. While South Africa is the wealthiest country in Africa, only whites have access to that wealth. Mandela provides statistics that reflect the poverty and lack of opportunity faced by black South Africans.
He discusses how the apartheid system deliberately creates laws that are intended to keep black South Africans in poverty. The only occupations open to black South Africans are unskilled or semi-skilled professions. «Pass laws» prohibit black South Africans from entering many areas, restricting their movements and putting them under police surveillance. Black South Africans are required to live in certain areas and are subject to curfews.
A major effect of apartheid laws, Mandela says, is the separation of families.
Racial equality in South Africa would no doubt end the extensive privileges and power enjoyed by the white minority. However, Mandela stresses that both he and the ANC want to end political divisions based on race. They do not want to take over the current unjust system, simply putting blacks into the dominant position in place of whites. Rather, they want equality, democracy, and harmony among all groups in South Africa.
Mandela concludes his speech by declaring that he has dedicated his whole life to the struggle of black South Africans.
The farm was the headquarters of Umkhonto we Sizwe, a group that Mandela had helped form. Umkhonto members had decided that it would be necessary to use violent methods in the anti-apartheid struggle. In the Liliesleaf raid, police discovered numerous incriminating documents, including some in Mandela's handwriting. Mandela had lived in hiding at the farm off and on between 1960 and 1962 but was not at the farm during the raid.
After the ANC was banned in 1960, Mandela and other activists went underground and formed Umkhonto in 1961. Members of the ANC, Umkhonto, and the Communist Party used Liliesleaf as a refuge and meeting place. Mandela posed as a gardener and undertook a methodical study of guerilla warfare, Marxism, communism, and other topics.
In 2001, in a speech commemorating the founding of Umkhonto, Mandela called it «the armed wing of our liberation movement.» He described the ANC as the «mother organization» and Umkhonto as «its liberation army.» At the time of his trial, Mandela sought to highlight the distinctions between the two groups.
He refers to white South Africans, the minority that held all the power in the country, as whites. Pan-African solidarity was seen by Mandela and others as a key to ending European colonial domination. Mandela was careful to emphasize that his beliefs and dedication to ending apartheid did not imply that he or the ANC sought to turn the tables and put white South Africans in an inferior position.
South Africa was in a somewhat unique position, as it was already independent at that time. It separated from the British Empire to become an independent state in 1934, but the white government remained firmly in power. Anti-colonial efforts elsewhere in Africa took a different trajectory, with multiple African countries breaking away from European control and establishing African governments in the 1950s and 1960s. Mandela looked to independent African countries for both moral and financial support.
During his 1962 tour of Africa, Mandela went to Algeria, which had just gained independence from France after a protracted and contentious war.
In addressing the influence of communism on the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe, Mandela strongly refutes the argument that these organizations are under the control of communists. The anti-apartheid struggle occurred during the Cold War, and supporting or sympathizing with communism was widely considered dangerous and reprehensible. Mandela points out that communists supported the anti-apartheid movement when no other groups did. He does not seek to hide the connections between the ANC and the Communist Party.
This ready acknowledgment of cooperation with communists parallels Mandela's admission of other controversial activities such as sabotage and guerilla warfare. These were all strategies that activists had considered as having the potential to turn the tide and liberate black South Africans. Mandela also states unequivocally that he is not a communist nor a member of the Communist Party. He notes that in his younger years, he had in fact opposed the ANC's cooperation with the Communist Party.
The immediate reaction to the trial and Mandela's speech was mixed. White South Africans were largely unmoved, but crowds of black South Africans showed up outside the courtroom carrying signs of support. By the 1980s most Western countries would impose economic and political sanctions against South Africa in protest of apartheid. During his years in prison, Mandela was still seen as a leading figure in the anti-apartheid movement.
In 1986 the South African government began holding talks with Mandela, while he was still in prison, to initiate a process for ending apartheid. In 1990 Mandela was released from prison. Working with South African President F. In 1993 a new constitution reinstated all nonwhite South Africans' right to vote. A year later, Mandela was elected South Africa's first black president.
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