February 9, 2010 – To condense all of Nelson Mandela’s achievements into one chronology would be impossible; as a result, below you will find a brief chronology of important events relating to Mr Mandela’s imprisonment.
January 1962: Leaves the country for military training and to gather support for the newly formed armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC)Umkhonto we Sizwe.
July 1962: Returns to South Africa via Botswana and drives to Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia.
Travels to KwaZulu-Natal to report back to ANC President Chief Albert Luthuli and other comrades.
August 5, 1962: Arrested near Howick.
November 7, 1962: Sentenced to five years for incitement and leaving the country illegally. Assigned the prisoner number 19476/62.
May 1963: Sent to Robben Island.
October 1963:Charged with sabotage, with nine others, in what becomes known as the Rivonia Trial.
Accused in the Trial:
Nelson Mandela
Walter Sisulu
Govan Mbeki
Ahmed Kathrada
Raymond Mhlaba
Denis Goldberg
Elias Motsoaledi
Lionel “Rusty” Bernstein
Andrew Mlangeni
James Kantor
April 20, 1964: Makes his famous Speech from the Dock, in which he says he is “prepared to die” for a democratic South Africa.
June 11, 1964: All except Bernstein and Kantor are convicted on charges of sabotage.
June 12, 1964: Mr Mandela and seven others are sentenced to life imprisonment.
June 12, 1964: All except Goldberg are sent to Robben Island to serve their sentences. Goldberg, as the only white person convicted in the trial, is held in Pretoria Central Prison. Mr Mandela is assigned the prisoner number 466/64.
1968: Mr Mandela’s mother Nosekeni dies. He is forbidden to attend her funeral.
1969: Mr Mandela’s eldest son, Thembekile, is killed in a car accident. Mr Mandela is forbidden to attend his funeral.
1982: Mr Mandela, Sisulu, Mhlaba and Mlangeni, and later Kathrada, are transferred to Pollsmoor Prison. Mr Mandela is assigned the prisoner number 220/82.
February 10, 1985: Rejects South African President PW Botha’s offer to release him and other political prisoners if he renounces violence.
1985: Goldberg, who has been held apart from his comrades for more than 20 years, accepts the offer and is released.
1985: Undergoes surgery on his prostate gland at the Volks Hospital in Cape Town. Visited in hospital by Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee.
May 1986: Meets with an Eminent Persons Group from the Commonwealth Group of Nations.
July 1986: Writes to the Commissioner of Prisons, requesting a meeting with Kobie Coetsee, on a matter of “national importance”.
Meets with Coetsee, where he first raises the issue of talks about talks between the National Party Government and the ANC. Also asks to meet President PW Botha.
November 1987: Govan Mbeki is released from Robben Island.
August 1988: Contracts tuberculosis and is admitted to Tygerberg Hospital, where he remains for six weeks.
September 1988: Continues his recuperation at Constantiaberg MediClinic.
December 9, 1988: Is transferred to Victor Verster Prison, near Paarl, where he is held in a house formerly occupied by a warder. Mr Mandela is assigned the prisoner number 1335/88.
July 1989: Meets PW Botha.
October 1989: Sisulu, Kathrada, Motsoaledi, Mlangeni and Mhlaba are released.
December 1989: Meets FW de Klerk.
February 2, 1990: At the opening of Parliament, President FW De Klerk announces the unbanning of all political organisations, including the ANC.
February 9, 1990: Meets De Klerk and is informed of his release in two days’ time. He is to be released in Johannesburg. Mandela objects, saying he wants to walk out of Victor Verster Prison, and asks for an extra week for ANC people on the outside to prepare. De Klerk refuses the extension, but agrees to release him at Victor Verster.
February 10, 1990: De Klerk announces, at a press conference, that Mr Mandela will be released the next day.
February 11, 1990: Mr Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison.
February 11, 1990: Addresses thousands of well-wishers gathered on the Grand Parade, from the balcony of the City Hall in Cape Town. Spends the night at Bishopscourt, the official residence of the Archbishop of Cape Town.
February 12, 1990: Holds a press conference in the garden of Bishopscourt. Flies to Johannesburg.
February 12, 1990: Stays the night in North Riding, at the home of Sally Rowney, a supporter.
February 13, 1990: Flies to FNB Stadium in Soweto for a welcoming rally.
February 13, 1990: Spends his first night, in decades, at his family home at 8115 Orlando West, Soweto.