Political Prisoners of South Africa Documentation Project
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      • Matthews Meyiwa
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      • Rehabeam Nambinga
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      • Johannes (Ka) Shabangu
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      • Johannes Shiponeni
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      • Anthony Tsotsobe
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      • Sanna Twala
      • Malakia Ushona
      • Messack Victory
      • Ndoda Xaba
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Political Prisoners

There are both broad and narrow definitions of political prisoners.  It has been noted that the system of apartheid made all South Africans political prisoners because their freedom of expression, association, and movement was severely restricted.  Even those in exile could have been viewed as political prisoners because they were not free to return home.

Although those definitions are valid, for our purposes, the Bracelet Program used Amnesty International’s narrower definition of political prisoners.  “They are those who are detained, imprisoned or restricted because they have, or are suspected to have engaged in activities designed to bring about political and social change in South Africa”.  Political prisoners fell into four categories; convicted political prisoners, political detainees, those who were banned, and banished persons.  The Bracelet Program focused on convicted political prisoners serving life sentences in South Africa.  We used those individuals as symbols of all political prisoners in South Africa.

Namibian Prisoners on Robben Island
When the Bracelet Program began in March 1985, seventeen members of the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) were serving life sentences on Robben Island and were included in the program.  These Namibians were captured in a raid on SWAPO bases in northern Namibia, secretly flown to South Africa, put on trial in Pretoria, and sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa.  These prisoners were released in November 1985.

Women Political Prisoners
When the Bracelet Program was started in 1985, only men had been sentenced to life imprisonment.  Due to the many requests for female prisoner bracelets and given the integral role women played in the liberation of South Africa, we first included Thandi Modise because she was the woman who at that time was serving the longest sentence in South Africa.  Modise was convicted on three charges under the Terrorism Act and sentenced November 7, 1980 to a total of sixteen years, but was to effectively serve eight.  Thandi was released in 1988, and Theresa Ramashamola was added to the program.  Ramashamola of the Sharpeville Six was sentenced to death in 1985, but her sentenced was commuted to 18 years in 1988.  Given the information we had, Theresa was the woman serving the longest sentence.   Later we realized that Sanna Twala of Duduza had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987.  When we found out, we added Ms. Twala to the program as well.  She was the first woman sentenced to life imprisonment. 
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