Historical Organization
South African judiciary
South African judiciary
Details
Organization Timeline
Mandela appears in court for the Rivonia Trial
📅 9 October 1963Mandela appeared at the Palace of Justice in Pretoria with ten co-accused. The state charged them in connection with sabotage and the attempt to overthrow apartheid. These were allegations in a...
The defence seeks to quash the Rivonia indictment
📅 29 October 1963The defence applied to have the indictment quashed; it alleged 199 acts of sabotage. The application challenged the prosecution’s legal framing and the way the state gathered and presented its case....
The first Rivonia indictment is quashed and the accused are rearrested
📅 30 October 1963The prosecution announced that Bob Hepple would become a state witness; Hepple was released and left the country. The court quashed the indictment against the other ten accused, who were immediately...
Bail is refused to Bernstein and Kantor
📅 1 November 1963Justice Quartus de Wet refused bail to Lionel “Rusty” Bernstein and James Kantor. The decision concerned those two accused, not Mandela personally. Their continuing detention illustrates the unequal...
The prosecution presents a new Rivonia indictment
📅 12 November 1963Prosecutor Percy Yutar presented a new indictment dividing the sabotage charges into two parts. The case was adjourned. The altered charge structure followed the collapse of the first indictment and...
The alleged sabotage counts are reduced from 199 to 193
📅 25 November 1963The prosecution reduced the alleged acts of sabotage from 199 to 193. The defence again sought to quash the indictment. Describing the counts as allegations matters: the numbers belong to the...
The court rejects the application to quash the indictment
📅 26 November 1963Justice De Wet dismissed the defence application to quash the new indictment. The ruling cleared the way for the trial to proceed. The courtroom remained a site where the state exercised power through...
The Rivonia Trial is remanded to 3 December
📅 27 November 1963The case was remanded after Kantor’s new defence requested time to prepare. The brief procedural entry preserves the work of the defense and the distinct circumstances of co-accused. It also documents...
James Kantor is discharged and released
📅 4 March 1964The court discharged James Kantor from the Rivonia case and released him. Kantor’s acquittal came amid the continuing prosecution of the remaining accused. The Nelson Mandela Foundation chronology...
Mandela and seven co-accused are convicted of sabotage
📅 11 June 1964The court convicted all the accused except Lionel “Rusty” Bernstein of sabotage. The verdict followed a proceeding in which the accused faced the death penalty and used their defense to challenge...
Mandela and seven others are sentenced to life imprisonment
📅 12 June 1964Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Denis Goldberg, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, and Andrew Mlangeni were sentenced to life. The court sent the seven Black defendants to Robben...