Abram Fischer Forfeits Bail

On 25 January 1965, Abram Fischer, Q.C., standing trial under the Suppression of Communism Act, failed to arrive in court, forfeited his bail and disappeared. He went underground and was only recaptured in November to stand trial for conspiring to commit sabotage and being a member of the banned organisation, the South African Communist Party (SACP). Bram Fischer was a lawyer of Afrikaner descent, a dedicated cadre of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and notable for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures.

Abraham (Bram) Louis Fischer was born on 23 April 1908 from a prominent Afrikaner family; his father was Percy Fischer, a judge president of the Orange Free State, and his grandfather was Abraham Fischer, a Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony and later a member of the Cabinet of the Union of South Africa. Prior to studying at University of Oxford (New College) as a Rhodes scholar during the 1930s, Bram was schooled at Grey College and Grey University College in Bloemfontein.

Fischer joined the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) in the 1940s and soon rose to leadership positions. The CPSA had a close relationship with the African National Congress (ANC) and in 1943, Fischer co-authored revisions to the constitution of the ANC. In 1946 he was charged with incitement arising out of his position as a leader of the CPSA and the African Mine Workers’ Strike of that year. After the CPSA was banned in 1950, he became Chairman of the illegal South African Communist Party (SACP) when it was re-established underground in 1953.

Fischer played an integral role on the defence team in the Treason Trial of 1956, where many anti-apartheid activists were acquitted on 29 March 1961. He also led the legal defence team at the Rivonia Trial of 1963 – 1964. By a coincidence, Fischer had not been present at the raid on Liliesleaf Farm, although he had in fact been part of the trusted MK Rivonia inner circle. A number of documents seized by authorities at the farm were in his handwriting.

The Rivonia trialists were sentenced to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty, which was considered a victory for the defence. At this time, Fischer’s role as leader of the SACP and MK was unknown even to his closest white friends. After the verdict, Bram visited the Rivonia trial prisoners on Robben Island to discuss the question of an appeal in their case. A few days later he was himself arrested, held in solitary confinement for three days and then released. On 23 September 1964, he was again arrested and joined the 12 white men and women facing charges of being members of the illegal SACP. Fischer applied for bail to attend a patent case in London and was released on bail to handle this case. He returned to South Africa to face trial despite pressure put on him to forgo his £5,000 bail and go into exile.

On 25 January 1965, after proceedings began, he did not arrive at Court and instead sent a letter to his counsel, Harold Hanson which was read out in court. Fischer went underground to support the liberation struggle against apartheid and was struck off the advocate’s roll in 1965 in a trial completed in his absence. Bram Fischer carried on underground activities for almost a year and was arrested in November 1965, after 290 days underground. In March 1966 he was put on trial for a second time on charges of furthering the aims of communism and conspiracy to overthrow the government. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in Pretoria Central Prison. In 1967 he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.

In September 1974, Fischer fell and fractured his femur and neck whilst trying to shower in prison. After thirteen days he was admitted to hospital and his hip was found to be cancerous. He was allowed to leave the prison shortly before his death and placed under house arrest at his brother’s home in Bloemfontein in April 1975. He died a few weeks later.

Bram Fischer was one of the “bravest and staunchest friends of the freedom struggle that I have ever known”. – Nelson Mandela

Castro Khwela
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