The Massive Post-Rivonia Arrests: August 1963 – July 1964
On 3 August 1963, in the early hours of the morning, Stephen Mtshali was arrested at his aunt’s home, in Durban, and was taken to the Wentworth Police Station for interrogation by apartheid Detective Warrant Officer Nicolaas J. Grobler. On the same morning, at a house in Durban’s Windsor Park suburb, Ronnie Kasrils gave Bruno Mtolo some money to buy some meat and vegetables at Kloof, and to arrange for Stephen Mtshali to visit the recently established hideout. Mtolo left the hideout at around 11:00, and when he reached Kloof Railway Station, he was apprehended by Officers Grobler and Wessels, who then took him to Pinetown Police Station.
On 7 August 1963, the apartheid Security Branch, under the leadership of Lieutenant Steenkamp, arrested Sonny Singh, who was working as a waiter in a Durban restaurant. Two days later, on 9 August, two members of the apartheid Security Branch went into the main section of the library of the University of the Witwatersrand, where they found Ruth First searching for specific books. Ruth First was arrested, as the students were watching in silence, and placed under the ninety-day clause.
During this Rivonia era, African National Congress (ANC) members who were not arrested and remained inside the country continued with the struggle and were involved in different activities such as helping cadres to find their way into exile. Women also played a crucial role in ensuring that
