In Time of Lockdown: Reflections on Locks, Lockdown, Isolation

Nelson Mandela in Prison Tilly Mobley (MO L6) Just over seven years ago, on 5th December 2013, Nelson Mandela passed away at the grand age of 95, at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg. In the end, Mandela’s death did not occur in the cell of a prison block, or as a result of the discriminative laws of apartheid. In fact, a state funeral was ordered by the president, and Mandela’s remarkable life was widely celebrated. This is an image of stark contrast to that of the Rivonia trial, conducted decades earlier, where Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Palace of Justice, Pretoria, a stern reproof to his life’s endeavours. Mandela was locked up by his own government – with the intention of permanence – upon charges of treason.

Despite this interminable sentence, Nelson Mandela died a global hero; he managed to reform conditions locally for fellow inmates in prison, nationally for South Africans under apartheid, and ultimately everyone worldwide living under systems of segregation. In 1990, Mandela walked free – in spite of the intentions of his captors.

Twenty years in prison. ‘This is the island. This is where you will die’ were the first words of a warden who greeted prisoner 46664, Nelson Mandela, upon arrival at Robben Island in 1967. Evidently, Nelson’s imprisoners were adamant he would never see the light of day, nevertheless Mandela remained optimistic, driven by his moral conscience assuring him his struggles were worthwhile. His optimism was evident when, instead of allowing his captors to triumph, Mandela stood up against their maltreatment: he said it ‘made us more determined to continue with this battle until victory has won.’ Considering the fact that three former inmates of Robben island went on to become presidents of South Africa, it seems many of these prisoners did win their battle, surfacing from isolation unconquered. Robben Island was where Mandela would endure 18 testing years out of the 27 he spent imprisoned. The island was notorious for its harsh regime and bleak conditions, and Mandela’s imprisonment there took numerous forms; physical, emotional, psychological and political.

The walls of Mandela’s seven by nine foot room bound him physically within the island, which was already isolated from mainland society by eight kilometres of sea. He was permitted one visit and one letter every six months, and emotional relationships were held upon a leash. Officials monitored rare the rare 30-minute visits, and painstakingly censored the content of Mandela’s desperate letters in which he attempted to be an active father to his children. Letters were stripped of anything deemed ‘political’, regularly leaving illegible passages behind. Meanwhile Mandela was stripped of the right to study for four entire years, after the discovery of his secret autobiography by his jailors. These details merely paint a vague image of the extent to which Mandela’s confinement notably extended beyond his direct physical imprisonment.

Arguably more important, apartheid represented an isolation within society that could not even be escaped by those outside prison walls. In spite of the ANC’s efforts, and their ongoing struggles, political freedom had not at this time been won; black South Africans still endured massive discrimination which plagued their everyday lives. Furthermore, Intellectual exercise was never allowed; studying was periodically granted or denied, and limited as a whole – owing to particular subjects, such as politics and military history, being forbidden.

‘The authorities believed that isolation was the cure for our defiance and rebelliousness’, wrote Mandela in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Nelson Mandela was sent to the new cell block of Robben Island, especially constructed for political prisoners, in a bid by the national government to dispose of leadership qualities and extinguish all threats to apartheid legislation. Political prisoners, including Mandela and his comrades, underwent the toughest punishments, were allowed the fewest privileges and endured the worst living conditions.

This was due to their political crimes against apartheid, which named them the lowest-grade prisoners, existing under Class D conditions. Nevertheless, the white regime’s solution to the ANC’s persistence failed. The ANC undeniably succeeded in the end, abolishing the system of apartheid with the March 1992 referendum. Aged 72, Nelson Mandela was alive, healthy and free of prison’s burdens. Mandela consolidated anti-apartheid success by introducing his own personally formulated constitution, an activity which would present him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

32