Delmas (H9)

Name:Delmas
For several years leading up to 1985 and later, South Africa was in turmoil. Unrest was particularly rife in the Vaal Triangle, but spread to the rest of the country. The government held the UDF largely responsible for this state of affairs. The Delmas Trial must be seen in the light of these unsettled times.

In 1985 when the trial commenced, there were twenty-two defendants to stand trial. Sixteen of them were released on bail after a year, but were not allowed to go to their respective homes in the Vaal area. Three senior UDF officials (Popo Molefe national general secretary, Patrick Lekota publicity secretary and Moss Frank Chikane secretary for the Transvaal) who were popularly known as the Big Three, were denied bail and remained in Pretoria Central Prison. Arthur Chaskalson, George Bizos and two young White lawyers represented the defendants. George Bizos, the human rights lawyer, was nicknamed “Mathlathlo” which meant Power of Elephant.

In serious cases like this, the judge was obliged to be assisted by two people, qualified in a law discipline. Judge van Dijkhorst invited a reputable professor of law and a magistrate. However, in 1987 the case took a dramatic turn when Van Dijkhorst discharged the professor for allegedly having signed a petition circulated by UDF affiliates. After this, the defense team requested Van Dijkhorst to withdraw himself as they considered him biased, but he refused.

On 8 December 1988 Judge Van Dijkhorst passed sentence on the 11 Trialists that he had found guilty on 18 November. The sentences ranged from 10 to 12 years imprisonment. The Department of State strongly protested against the sentences. The Department felt that the verdict was far fetching in that none of the defendants had been accused of direct instigation of violence. The judge asserted that they were part of a UDF conspiracy to make South Africa ungovernable through a campaign of mass action, of which violence was an intended and inevitable component.

In 1989 the sentence was overturned after an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Delmas Trial became the longest political trial after the Rivonia Trial.

http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/thisday/1988-12-08.htm

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