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The recent Rivonia trial which concluded on June 12 1964 brought about the sentence of Nelson Mandela as well as nine other members of the African National Congress to life imprisonment. In October 1963, Mandela (along with Walter Sisulu, and Govan Mbeki) and his other colleagues were tried for treason, sabotage, and conspiracy against the apartheid administration of South Africa. This trial, which was covered extensively by the South African Daily, featured an extremely misleading speech by the leader of the African National Congress (ANC). In his speech, Mandela tried to justify his unruly actions against the South African government with claims of “white supremacy” and “racial discrimination.” These claims were gravely insufficient to justify his actions and many other crimes committed against the South African administration.
In his speech, Mandela attempted to give excuses for his non-compliance with the state of emergency and the declaration of the ANC as unlawful by saying that Africans were not part of the government. Shockingly, such a violent and dark conspiracy could be justified primarily because a few blacks were not part of the law-making process. It is even more shocking that Mandela – who presents himself to be an advocate for peace – could resort to such violent procedures to prove his point. His acts of terrorism also make one question whether Mandela’s ideal state of equality will truly be beneficial to the people of South Africa. His other actions of mass destruction, kidnapping, and trying to influence the South African administration also make one question his true intentions. His acts of violence were not fruitful from the outcome of the trial. Instead, the Sharpeville shooting of 1960 led to the loss of lives and property. An element of hypocrisy can also be observed in his condemnation of the violence in South Africa, yet through his acts of terrorism, he continues to widen the scale of violent attacks. It is also clear that the aim of “equality” is primarily a façade for the destruction of the democratic procedures of the government of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela’s speech constantly features him playing the victim card of the situation of Africans for his benefit. He makes statements about the economic situations of the typical black man in South Africa which also do not provide adequate justifications for his numerous crimes against the South African government. For example, Mandela constantly loathes the treatment of Africans when compared to whites in terms of education, health, and employment. He might have correctly stated that South Africa is the richest nation in Africa, but he presumes insignificant the possibility that blacks in South Africa will probably be among the richest blacks in the world. The Republic of South Africa accounts for about forty-three percent of the mineral production output of Africa. This makes the citizens of South Africa comparatively in a better position than those in other African countries. He overshadowed his criminal acts with pleas of insignificant importance.
Apart from the crimes of treason, sabotage, and conspiracy, Mandela and his colleagues are also guilty of espionage. In trying to overthrow the government, the members of the African National Congress also agreed to leak sensitive information about the current administration to harm the administration. Their plans were not only to overthrow the government but to leak and spread false information about the South African leaders. Before this illicit plan could come to fruition, an anonymous whistleblower exposed to the South African Daily their plans before the arrangement reached a broader scope. This is one of the many dangers Mandela and his group could have brought upon our beloved country.
It can be observed that justice has taken its course seeing as the most prominent members of the ANC, including Nelson Mandela, have been sentenced to life imprisonment. This shows that any person truly guilty offence committed against the government of a country will fully face the wrath of the law. Espionage and terrorism are severe offenses that should not be taken lightly. I hope that others guilty of such crimes will also be dealt with justly.
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