The Little Rivonia Trial was a South African apartheid-era court case in which several members of the armed resistance organization Umkhonto we Sizwe faced charges of sabotage. The accused were: Laloo Chiba, Dave Kitson, Mac Maharaj, John Matthews and Wilton Mkwayi. A confederate of theirs, Lionel Gay turned state witness, and in return, the prosecution dropped the charges against him.[1]
In 1976, Mac Maharaj was released from custody of Apartheid government after serving 12 years in the Robben Island prison.
In 1979, John Matthews, a white South African Communist,[6] was released after serving his 15 year sentence at Pretoria Central Prison.[6] In 1997, years after his release, Matthews received three long service MK medals from then Deputy Minister of Defence, Ronnie Kasrils.[6] Matthews eventually succumbed to cancer at the age of 85.[6]
In 1982, Laloo Chiba was released from custody of Apartheid government after serving 18 years in the Robben Island prison but he was rearrested in 1985 to 1986 without a trial.
On 11 May 1984, Dave Kitson, a white British Communist who served in the High Command of uMkhonto weSizwe,[7][8] was released after being in prison since 1964.[7] He afterwards moved back to his native home of London, England.[9][8] He later died in 2010.[10]