Harry Schwarz - Rivonia Trial

Rivonia Trial

In 1963 Nelson Mandela and many other political opponents were arrested and brought to court in the famous Rivonia Trial. Harry Schwarz was one of the defence barristers in the trial defending Accused No. 8 Jimmy Kantor, who was a close friend of his. Kantor was Mandela's lawyer in the trial until he too was arrested and charged with the same crimes as Mandela. After being the subject of vicious taunting and many attempts to place him as a vital cog of MK by Percy Yutar, finally Judge Quartus de Wet discharged him, stating Accused No 8 has no case to answer. Kantor along with Rusty Bernstein were the only accused who were acquitted. Kantor noted in his autobiography, A Healthy Grave, that Schwarz refused payment. Schwarz was refused access to Mandela while he was imprisoned on Robben Island, however he was granted access to visit him after 1988 when he was transferred to Victor Verster Prison. After the trial he left the Bar and became a solicitor so that he could concentrate on fighting apartheid.

During the trial he presented the case for Kantor as follows, "My Lord, it is difficult to reply in a restrained fashion. My learned friend must not use words such as 'Communist' lightly, when he refers to Kantor. Kantor is not a Communist. My learned friend has used the tactics of McCarthyism in an endeavour to smear him. I think, with respect, my learned friend is allowing himself to run away with facts that are not there. His complaint in count one is not that they found files with evidence. Oh not, he says that 'we found files with nothing in them', not in Kantor's office, but in the office of Wolpe. Then my learned friend that the practice had been ruined and liquidated Kantor's practice. My lord, it is not Kantor. It is not Kantor! Why I say it is so difficult to be restrained, is that my learned friend has thrown in everything that concerns every accused in this case, and says 'that is why I don't want Kantor to get bail.'"