Historical Organization
South African Ministry of Justice
South African Ministry of Justice
Details
Organization Timeline
Mandela asks for release or political-prisoner treatment
📅 22 April 1969Writing from Robben Island on behalf of colleagues, Mandela asked the Minister of Justice either to release imprisoned political activists or to grant them treatment due to political prisoners. The...
Mandela writes to the Justice Minister about Winnie’s health
📅 17 September 1970Mandela wrote to the Minister of Justice about Winnie’s poor health and family matters. She had been imprisoned since May 1969, and her long detention separated her from the children. The letter shows...
Mandela is admitted to hospital for prostate surgery
📅 3 November 1985Mandela was admitted to Volks Hospital in Cape Town for prostate surgery. His treatment placed him in a civilian hospital but under guard, with prison and state officials retaining control over...
Mandela returns to Pollsmoor and is held apart from his comrades
📅 23 November 1985After leaving hospital, Mandela was returned to Pollsmoor and held in a cell alone. The Nelson Mandela Foundation chronology records that he began communicating with the government about eventual...
Mandela holds his first meeting with Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee about talks
📅 20 July 1986Mandela met Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee to discuss talks between the government and the ANC. Mandela had insisted that negotiations could not be a private settlement over his own sentence: the...