Wits honours Bram Fischer
The life of anti-apartheid activist Bram Fischer was celebrated at Wits University this past week.
by Sinikiwe Mqadi & Queenin Masuabi
Wits honoured, anti-apartheid activist and Rivonia Trial defence lawyer Bram ‘Mr Black’ Fischer. A posthumous honorary doctorate in law was received by his daughters, Ruth Rice and Ilse Wilson, this past Thursday.
Fischer was an Afrikaner communist who defended many anti-apartheid activists like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki from a government which had been seeking the death penalty for the crime of sabotage.
Wits Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Habib said that Fischer best represents the best traditions of Wits, South Africa and the future. “Fischer represented Afrikaner royalty, transcended the negative parts of the environment, defended Nelson Mandela,” Habib said.
Wits also hosted a colloquium to honour Fischer’s work. The panel consisted of Fischer’s former clients, family and friends. Ahmed Kathrada, Max Sisulu, Andrew Mlangeni, Denis Goldberg and George Bizos were just some of the people who were part of the panel.
“We stood for our liberty and our rights, and if Bram said something it carried weight,” Bizos said of his friend.
Max Sisulu, whose father, Walter, was a friend and client of Fischer, recalled the moments he shared with Fischer’s family. Sisulu said that Fischer would always be remembered for the influence he had on the outcomes of the trials of anti-apartheid activists.
BRAM FISCHER: Panel at the Colloquium at the Wits University, including Lorraine Chaskalson, Ruth Rice, Max Sisulu, Ilse Wilson, Sir Nicholas Stadlen, Professor Stephan Clingman, Dr Sholto Cross, Ahmed Kathrada, Lord Joel Joffe, Andrew Mlangeni, Denis Goldberg, Lesley Schermbrucker, George Bizos, Mosie Moolla not pictured here) and Yvonne Malan not pictured here). Photo: Tanisha Heiberg
The Rivonia Trial
The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa Between 1963 and 1964. Ten leaders of the African National Congress were tried for two hundred and twenty one acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the apartheid system.
Fischer was arrested in 1966 and and also charged with sabotage. The prosecution called for the death penalty but he was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment. He died on 8 May 1975 from cancer.
