Nelson Mandela: The Struggle By Other Means
On 21 April 1964, newspapers were selling like hot cakes following Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock at the Pretoria Supreme Court the previous day, during the Rivonia Trial, where both racially-divided galleries of the court were packed. The sitting was also attended by Leslie Minford, Consul-General of the United Kingdom, and John Miles, Counsellor of the United States embassy.
On 20 April, Bram Fischer, QC, informed Judge President Quartus de Wet that the defence was to commence with a statement from the dock by Accused No. 1, who personally took part in the establishment of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Mandela was expected to inform the Court about the beginnings of the organisation, and of its history up to August, when he was arrested. Percy Yutar, the State Prosecutor, informed the accused that he should be apprised of the fact that a statement from the dock did not carry the same weight as evidence under oath, though he was sure that the accused, as a legal practitioner himself, was aware of this. Accused No. 1, Mandela gestured that he was indeed aware of this.
Articulating his statement, Mandela identified the anti-republic stay-at-home of May 1961, and the state’s reaction to it, as the “casus belli”. He said the strike was planned to be peaceful, and careful instructions were conveyed to organisers and members to avoid violence. Despite this, “The government’s answer was to introduce new and harshe
