After the South African general election in 1948, the National Party, an Afrikaner political party that supported increased racial segregation and apartheid legislation, took increasingly authoritarian measures to combat any forms of resistance against the government. Under apartheid legislation, the South African government greatly limited the ability for anti-apartheid organizations to perform strikes and campaigns.

While the South African press readily covered stories of those having committed acts of treason or communism during the apartheid era, little attention was paid to what transpired once the court cases concluded and the sentences were determined. In fact, from the onset of apartheid to the height of its violence, the conditions of prisons and the treatment of prisoners by the Prison Department was largely unknown to the public.

Alternating from prison to fort to prison to museum, the Old Fort in Johannesburg has served a variety of unique purposes since its creation in 1893.[1] In an ironic way, it echoed its inhabitants during apartheid. Just as they were dragged from their jobs, families, and lives, and pushed into the role of activists by the abhorrent policies of their government, the prison too evolved to accommodate these new political prisoners.

Ruth First: An Ally of the Struggle

With the rise of apartheid in 1948, millions of Africans were left to suffer in South Africa. Many groups rallied against the Afrikaner government through political activism to change the future for the African people and free them from the white regime. Men such as Nelson

An Unmistakable Figure

Dulcie September was a fierce and ambitious anti-apartheid activist in South Africa. Her work with various resistance groups throughout her life, particularly the ANC, were incredibly influential in the fight against apartheid. However, despite the international recognition of September’s activist work and influence, her tragic death in 1988 was never fully investigated, and remains one of South Africa’s biggest mysteries.