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Rivonia Trial, South Africa, 1963-4: Nelson Mandela Dictabelt Dubbings

Dubbings of seven dictabelts loaned by the National Archives of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, of court recordings made at the Court of Justice in Pretoria on 20 April 1964. The blue 'dictabelts' are a type of audio recording, developed by the Dictaphone company, which was mainly used in offices between the 1940s and the 1960s. The short broad plastic belts were capable of being flattened and posted but could not be wiped and reused. It appears that the whole Rivonia Trial was recorded on dictabelts in line with normal court procedure at the time. These dubbings comprise only the opening of the defence case by Defence Counsel Bram Fischer, followed by interjections from Justice Quartus de Wet and Prosecutor Percy Yutar, then a three-hour speech by Accused Number One (Nelson Mandela). Extracts from the recordings have been published by SABC entitled 'The voice of Nelson Mandela: extracts from famous speeches', SABC/EMI, 2002 (EMI 724353736521; NSA shelfmark 1CD0189137).

Transcripts available.

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South African Trials

Transcripts of political cases.
Peripherally related to the Rivonia Trial is File 4: Inquest to establish cause of death of Looksmart Ngudle. It contains: transcript of complete proceedings. Pretoria, 21st Oct. 1963 - 23rd Dec. 1963. Looksmart Ngudle, a ninety-day detainee held under the Sabotage Act, was found dead, hanging in his cell at Pretoria Central Police Station, on September 5th, after 16 days in detention. He had been arrested in Cape Town and was found in possession of a firearm and some African National Congress leaflets. The four witnesses, held at the same time as Ngudle, said when cross-examined by the Defence that they had been tortured with electric shocks and severe beatings. One said that he was forced to sign a statement claiming that Ngudle was an important Umkonto we Sizwe leader (Ngudle was named in the Rivonia Trial as a co-conspirator). Each of the witnesses stated that Ngudle had told them that he was being tortured. The state claimed that Ngudle hanged himself because he had betrayed his comrades and had been told that he was going to be sentenced to death anyway. Further evidence of torture was ruled irrelevant: the court refused to accept the Defence's contention that torture (which the police denied) was a contributing factor to Ngudle's suicide. The hearing was adjourned.

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Mandela

Political biography of Nelson Mandela and his unique role in the liberation struggle in South Africa. Includes archive material of the Treason trial, the Rivonia trial and a filmed interview while underground. Directed by Lionel Ngakane and Niven Howie. Produced by Divemay Films. Edited by Julia Beer.

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