The twentieth anniversary of the arrest of Nelson Mandela is marked by a call for his release by China

Date: 5 Aug 1982
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

The twentieth anniversary of the arrest of Nelson Mandela, African National Congress (ANC) leader and first commander-in-chief of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), was marked by a call for his release by China. This was publicized in the Communist Party organ, The People’s Daily, and an appeal signed by more than 2 000 mayors from 53 countries was made public by the United Nations Centre Against Apartheid in New York. Mandela’s long-term incarceration began when he was captured in Cedara, a small town near Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, shortly after his return to South Africa on completing six months’ military training in Oujda, Morocco, and after attending the All Africa People’s Conference in Ethiopia. He was charged with incitement to strike and with illegally leaving the country. Bob Hepple acted as his legal representative. His trial took place inPretoria's Old Synagogue. In November 1962, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment on the charges. He began his sentence in Pretoria Central Prison.

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How we know this

01O’Malley, P. ‘1982’, from Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org.za (Accessed: 19 July 2013)
02Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, (2012), ‘Nelson Mandela Military Training’, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org.za (Accessed: 19 July 2013)
03South African History Online, ‘Mandela is arrested’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 19 July 2013)

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, July 31). The twentieth anniversary of the arrest of Nelson Mandela is marked by a call for his release by China. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0089328

South African History Online (2012) 'The twentieth anniversary of the arrest of Nelson Mandela is marked by a call for his release by China', South African History Online, 31 July. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0089328 (Accessed: 26 August 2026).

South African History Online, The twentieth anniversary of the arrest of Nelson Mandela is marked by a call for his release by China [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0089328, (accessed 26 August 2026).

"The twentieth anniversary of the arrest of Nelson Mandela is marked by a call for his release by China." South African History Online, 31 July 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0089328. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The twentieth anniversary of the arrest of Nelson Mandela is marked by a call for his release by China." South African History Online. July 31, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0089328.