Treason Trial, from 1956 to 1961, was a landmark court case in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation imposed by the South African government from 1948 to the early 1990’s. In the Treason Trial, the government charged numerous antiapartheid leaders with high treason. However, none of them was found guilty.
During the 1950’s, a number of groups held rallies, strikes, and boycotts to protest South Africa’s strict apartheid laws. The largest group was the African National Congress (ANC), with mostly Black members. In 1955, the ANC, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, and organizations representing various racial groups joined to form the Congress Alliance.
In June 1955, the Congress Alliance held a mass meeting called the Congress of the People. The meeting approved a Freedom Charter demanding equal rights for all South Africans. The charter also said South Africans should share equally in the nation’s wealth.
In September 1956, the South African government arrested 156 antiapartheid leaders connected with the Congress of the People. Prosecutors claimed that the goals of the Freedom Charter could only be achieved by a violent revolution. Therefore, they argued, the charter’s supporters had committed high treason. A Supreme Court panel of three judges tried the case. Eventually, the charges against many of the accused were dropped. In 1961, the court found the final 30 defendants not guilty.
One of the ANC leaders in the final group was Nelson Mandela. After apartheid ended, Mandela served from 1994 to 1999 as South Africa’s first Black president.
See also African National Congress (ANC); Apartheid; Mandela, Nelson.
