African Activist Archive

This mailing of the Unlock Apartheid's Jails campaign asks people to write to Minister of Law and Order Adriaan Volk and State President P.W. Botha demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Oscar Mpetha and all other political prisoners and detainees being held both in prison and in their homes. The letter points out that, on the third anniversary of the imposition of the State of Emergency, apartheid continues to thrive despite claims of change in the air in Pretoria. The detainee "Hunger Strike" campaign resulted in the release of over 700 detainees, but opponents of apartheid are still being arrested, held, without charge or trial for indefinite periods of time without access to their families or lawyers. Over 80% of the "released" detainees are placed under virtual house arrest, with restrictions on who and how many people they may meet, where they may go, and when and what they can say. The mailing includes documents by the United Kingdom organization Joint Campaign Against the Repression of Trade Unionists in South Africa and Namibia, including Free Oscar Mpetha; a letter announcing that Oscar's son, Themba Mpetha, is available to speak; and Oscar Mpetha – The Father of the Nation and Trade Unionism.

African Activist Archive

Detained to Death: Apartheid's Prisons Without Walls

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