HARRY THEMBA GWALA
Imprisoned for Life
(Original biographical information included with his bracelet in 1985)
Harry Themba Gwala was charged with nine others in the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court May 1976 under the Terrorism Act and the Suppression of Communism Act, with membership in the ANC, recruiting for military training or political training, and attempting to overthrow the government by force.
Gwala was convicted under the Terrorism and Suppression of Communism Acts and sentenced to life imprisonment which he is serving on Robben Island.
During the trial, witnesses and the accused stated that they had been brutally tortured by the security police and described details. Security police admitted in court that Gwala had been interrogated continuously for 43 hours. One of the people detained with Gwala, Joseph Mdluli, died in security police detention in March 1976 as a result of ‘force applied to his neck’, according to the post mortem.
Gwala had previously served eight years’ imprisonment on Robben Island after being convicted in 1964 for recruiting people for military training. On his release in 1972, he was banned for five years. In December 1975, Gwala was detained and held incommunicado until the start of his trial in May 1976.
Gwala was formerly secretary of the South African Railways and Harbour Workers’ Union, a member of the local South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) Committee, and chairman of the Pietermaritzburg branch of the ANC. In 1953 he was removed from his post as a trad union official under the Suppression of Communism Act.
In March 1978, Gwala and the others convicted with him were given leave to appeal to the Appellate Division in Bloemfontein against conviction and sentence. The trial judge had refused leave to appeal.
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The source of this biographical information is International Defence and Aid Fund’s book, Prisoners of Apartheid, 1978. We appreciate their permission to use this material.
Gwala was convicted under the Terrorism and Suppression of Communism Acts and sentenced to life imprisonment which he is serving on Robben Island.
During the trial, witnesses and the accused stated that they had been brutally tortured by the security police and described details. Security police admitted in court that Gwala had been interrogated continuously for 43 hours. One of the people detained with Gwala, Joseph Mdluli, died in security police detention in March 1976 as a result of ‘force applied to his neck’, according to the post mortem.
Gwala had previously served eight years’ imprisonment on Robben Island after being convicted in 1964 for recruiting people for military training. On his release in 1972, he was banned for five years. In December 1975, Gwala was detained and held incommunicado until the start of his trial in May 1976.
Gwala was formerly secretary of the South African Railways and Harbour Workers’ Union, a member of the local South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) Committee, and chairman of the Pietermaritzburg branch of the ANC. In 1953 he was removed from his post as a trad union official under the Suppression of Communism Act.
In March 1978, Gwala and the others convicted with him were given leave to appeal to the Appellate Division in Bloemfontein against conviction and sentence. The trial judge had refused leave to appeal.
____________
The source of this biographical information is International Defence and Aid Fund’s book, Prisoners of Apartheid, 1978. We appreciate their permission to use this material.