| Letters from Robben Island: A Selection of Ahmed Kathrada''s Prison Correspondence, 1964-1989 Subjects: Kathrada A. M. (Ahmed) -- Correspondence; Political prisoners -- South Africa -- Correspondence; South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1948-1994; Late one night in July, 1963, a South African police unit surrounded the African National Congress headquarters in Rivonia and arrested a group of Movement leaders gathered inside. Eventually eight of them, including Nelson Mandela, who was already serving a sentence, Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoledi, Andrew Mangeni, and Ahmed Kathrada, were convicted of sabotage and, on June 12, 1964, sentenced to life in prison. Soon, these men became widely known as the "Rivonia Trialists." Despite their imprisonment, the Trialists played active roles in the struggle against South Africa's racist regime. Instead of being forgotten, as apartheid officials had hoped, they became enduring symbols in a struggle against injustice and racism. Ahmed M. Kathrada, with Nelson Mandela, is long-serving political prisoner on Robben Island and Pollsmoor Maximum Prison. Kathrada was appointed political advisor to President Mandela. Vassen is Associate Director of the English Language Center at Michigan State University. |