Nelson Mandela

The focus of paper-Life of Nelson Mandela and his sentencing.

Thesis- Nelson Mandela was jailed for treason and 27 years later became president of South Africa.

Nelson Mandela was a black South African who fought for freedom for people of color. Mandela was born in Pretoria and was part of the Xhosa tribe. When Nelson Mandela was older he began to study law and eventually joined a party called the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943.

Mandela began to fight for the rights of people of color through peaceful protests. In March 1960 a group consisting of students surrounded a police station in protest of having to carry passports due to their color. The protests were peaceful with the students burning their passports to object to the law. Sadly a nervous police officer opens fire on the group which leads to all the policemen opening fire killing 65 and injuring more. The police officer that fired first was later given a Medal for his bravery.

The incident showed how fearful and volatile the situation was at the time. Part of the true-crime was the indoctrination of the whites against the black community by the apartheid government in the 1940s This was the day Nelson Mandela and the ANC stopped peaceful protests. From that day on the ANC organized blowing up power lines; blocking roads; and protesting violently. The National Party (NP) — The white ruling party of the time — was in power in South Africa. The NP enforced laws making it illegal for anyone of color to run for office. The ANC was seen as illegal and the enemy. This powered the NP to hunt down Nelson and his party.

Arrest and sentence

The NP found him hiding on a farm in Johannesburg. This lead to Nelson Mandela being put on trial and almost onto death-row. The trial was called the Rivonia trial consisting of Nelson Mandela and seven other members of the ANC. The trial had already decided Mandela’s fate and that of the seven others. The judge (Quartus de wet) had charged the individuals with high treason against the country. After Nelson Mandela gave his speech to the judge, the judge was left shaking and in two-minds about having to sentence Nelson Mandela to death.

You could call it a miracle or a glimpse of hope but, the judge decided against killing these men and sentenced them to life imprisonment. This had a massive impact on society as people still kept hope and started to work harder to fight for the freedom of the people. Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison, and Victor Verster Prison.

When Mandela was imprisoned, his wife Winnie Mandela took over his role and continued to drive for change in the country. The black society became more adamant with their protests this could be seen as all community members of color came together to fight and protest. The protests and knowledge of the apartheid government's atrocities against people of color by the international community created the boycotts in South Africa. The boycotts lead to South Africa not being able to trade or enter the Olympics.

Conclusion

The miracle I referred to earlier regarding Mandela not being sentenced to death, was that he allowed SA to become a true democracy in 1992 when Mandela was finally released. This specific crime story can show how crimes can be very differently perceived in other countries due to beliefs and religion. A true crime that had a favorable ending.

Map During Apartheid.

Wikimedia, 3 October 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Africa_racial_map,_1979.gif

Accessed 3 February 2021.

Map today.

“Geology”, 2008

https://geology.com/world/south-africa-satellite-image.shtml Accessed 3 February 2021.