Madiba escape plans from Robben Island (from my book on Nelson Mandela published by Rough Guides in the UK in 2011) “We are revolutionaries. It is our duty to try and escape the clutches of the enemy,” Nelson Mandela told his fellow prisoner Eddie Daniels, who says he was obsessed with escaping from the day of his arrest. Daniels took him seriously and planned an elaborate escape plan for the ANC leader. Daniels was due for release in November 1979 and planned the escape for New Year’s Day 1981 so he could assist from the outside. A trusted helicopter pilot would be recruited and he would fly with Daniels to the island with a winch and cable attached to a basket big enough for two people, timed to arrive above the courtyard of B Section at exactly 9,15am. The authorities would only become concerned at the last minute, because helicopters flew over the island regularly. If they were contacted by radio, they would say they were well-wishers bringing presents to the warders. Mandela would be waiting in the yard when the basket is lowered and other prisoners would block the corridors to prevent the warders from getting outside. The helicopter would fly Mandela to the grounds of a foreign embassy in Cape Town, a flight of just a few minutes and thus too short for attack aircraft to be scrambled. At the embassy they would ask for political asylum. Mandela and Sisulu like the plan and decided Sisulu should stay behind to act as leader of the prisoners. Daniels smuggled the detailed plan to Lusaka for the ANC’s approval, but he never heard from them. He was later told the leadership was discussing the plan when they were warned of a South African Defence Force raid on Lusaka and destroyed all documents as a precaution. Mac Maharaj’s escape plan was for Mandela to ask for a dentist’s appointment in Cape Town and once in the dentist’s chair to demand that the warders gave him privacy. He could then escape into the street where a car would pick him up. Mandela, Maharaj and Wilton Mkwayi did exactly that, but as they stood in the dentist’s waiting room, the noticed that there was not a soul to be seen in the otherwise busy street. The police had got wind of the plan and were setting them up. The three had their teeth seen to and quietly returned to the island.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 12:30:43 +0000
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