1985 – Dennis Goldberg Leaves South Africa

On 28 February 1985, Dennis Goldberg, the only white accused convicted during the Rivonia Trial, left South Africa for Israel after accepting a conditional release from prison. Just weeks earlier, on 31 January 1985, State President P. W. Botha had offered Nelson Mandela a conditional release from prison, provided he renounced violence as a means of political change. Mandela rejected the offer, explaining through a statement read by his daughter Zinzi Mandela at a rally in Soweto that the African National Congress had adopted armed resistance only after peaceful avenues of protest had been closed.

The government extended similar offers to other long-serving political prisoners convicted of sabotage. Eighteen accepted the conditions, including Dennis Goldberg and four members of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).

After his release, Goldberg departed for Israel on 28 February before later settling in London, where he continued campaigning against apartheid and advocating for the release of political prisoners.

Although these events unfolded far beyond Kimberley, they resonated strongly in the city. Kimberley had become home to several prominent political leaders, including Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, who had lived under house arrest and later practised law in the city until his death in 1978. The debates surrounding political imprisonment, conditional release and negotiations with the liberation movements were followed closely by many Kimberley residents. The events of February 1985 marked an important turning point. While Mandela remained imprisoned, growing international pressure and changing political realities were bringing South Africa closer to negotiations that would ultimately end apartheid.

Did You Know?

Dennis Goldberg was imprisoned separately from his fellow Rivonia Trialists because, under apartheid, white political prisoners were held in Pretoria Central Prison while their black colleagues were imprisoned on Robben Island.