Treason Trial Begins (1956)

Wed Dec 19, 1956

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On this day in 1956, the Treason Trial began in Johannesburg, South Africa when 153 people, including anti-apartheid activists Nelson Mandela and Ruth First, were accused of treason in court. All defendants were released or found not guilty.

A few weeks earlier, on December 5th, 1956, the South African Police’s Security Branch raided and arrested 140 people from around the country on the charge of treason as they enforced the Suppression of Communism Act.

An attempt by the prosecutor to proceed with the case was interrupted three times by the noise of 5,000 black South Africans, who, hoping to attend the trial, surrounded the streets of the Drill Hall and sung the hymn “Nkosi Sikeleli Afrika”.

The trial’s defendants dwindled over the next several years. On March 29th, 1961, down to 28 defendants, the trial’s verdict was released - all defendants were found not guilty of treason and discharged.

In 1960, the prosecution asked Mandela if he would accept gradual democratic concessions from the ruling class. He responded:

"We demand universal adult franchise and we are prepared to exert economic pressure to attain our demands, and we will launch defiance campaigns, stay-at-homes, either singly or together, until the Government should say, ‘Gentlemen, we cannot have this state of affairs, laws being defied, and this whole situation created by stay-at-homes. Let’s talk.’

In my own view I would say ‘Yes, let us talk’ and the Government would say, ‘We think that the Europeans at present are not ready for a type of government where there might be domination by non-Europeans. We think we should give you 60 seats. The African population to elect 60 Africans to represent them in Parliament. We will leave the matter over for five years and we will review it at the end of five years.’

In my view, that would be a victory, my lords; we would have taken a significant step towards the attainment of universal adult suffrage for Africans, and we would then for the five years say, we will suspend civil disobedience; we won’t have any stay-at-homes…I’d say we should accept it, but, of course, I would not abandon the demands for the extension of the universal franchise to all Africans."