Life is Wonderful

“Siyabonga Springboks”

The headline on the Sunday times on the 3rd of November 2019 screamed it out loud and proud. Poems had been written, interviews conducted and celebrations went on right through the night. The Springboks under the captaincy of Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus were bringing home the Rugby World Cup from Japan, and the country was uplifted. It was Nation building at its very finest. Diversity, inclusion, Unity, leadership, humanity. It was all there.

We would surely be forever #Strongertogether.

The Rainbow Nation has seen these moments before. The two previous Rugby World Cup wins in 2007 and 1995 where the trophy was held aloft by our presiding Presidents still remain as moments of National Pride and Unity, and there have been others.

The ‘Oarsome foursome’s’ gold medal in the 2012 Olympics in the lightweight men’s four rowing final, Josia Thugwane’s courageous crossing of the finish line just three seconds ahead of South Korea’s, Lee in the marathon in Atlanta 1996 to take the Gold, and what about that Africa Nations Cup win in the same year, or the 438 game at the Wanderers cricket stadium in Johannesburg? There have been many more sporting moments, beauty queens, Oscar winners, choirs and performances which have flown the flag and have given the citizens of this remarkable country good reason to feel proud. We have lapped up these beautifully documented moments and cherished them as we continue to navigate the challenging times which come with living in an extraordinary place. They stand as beacons of light in the dark, and flames of hope in despair, and when times are dark and desperate, some have found their moment to shine.

I was moved recently by the memory of a quite different victory.

This was a victory achieved more than half a century ago, and it took place over months, not minutes. It required arguably one of the greatest defensive strategies of all time. There were eleven players present who demonstrated every characteristic which any team has shown in winning any championship, ever, and they had a team behind them who lived as one behind the values they espoused. This team were not playing a home game, nor even plying their skills at a neutral venue. Instead, they were playing away, in the most hostile environment imaginable. No team has shown more courage, more integrity, more trust in each other, and the event was held together by hope and honour and galvanized by grit and the greatest display of grace. Grace under fire.

This legendary team backed each other and never backed down. Not once. Much like many of the teams who achieved victory before them, they played for something far bigger than themselves. They put not only their bodies, but their lives on the line, and when the referee called time, he did so as a judge, and the verdict was declared not with the shrill sound of a whistle, but by the dull thud of a gavel.

The verdict was Life. Life imprisonment.

But ‘Life is Wonderful’ when the alternative is death. Death by hanging at the hands of the inhumane. Death at dawn.

The Eleven courageous co-accused Rivonia trialists and their spectacular defence team had given us a window into what South Africa could become. A Multi-racial brotherhood and sisterhood of Humanity living towards the ideals of a non-racial society. They showed us the possibility of Leadership at all levels working together to achieve an inspired outcome. They showed us that if we want to get something, we have to focus only on what we can give in that moment, and they were prepared to give up their lives. These extraordinary men taught us about true teamwork, about living by an agreed set of values, and they schooled us about the real sacrifice behind service.

Why have we forgotten?

Steve Hall

In honour of the Rivonia trialists:

Nelson Mandela (Accused no.1)

Walter Sisulu (Accused No.2)

Denis Goldberg (Accused No.3)

Govan Mbeki (Accused No.4)

Ahmed Kathrada (Accused No.5)

Lionel Bernstein (Accused No.6)

Raymond Mhlaba (Accused No.7)

James Kantor (Accused No.8)

Elias Motsoaledi (Accused No.9)

Andrew Mlangeni (Accused No.10)

Bob Hepple (Accused No.11)

And their legal defence team:

Joel Joffe

Bram Fischer

Vernon Berrangé

Arthur Chaskalson

George Bizos

And in everlasting thanks to Sir Nick Stadlen, a retired British High Court Judge, for capturing this incredibly important story in his documentary, ‘Life is Wonderful’ : Mandela’s unsung heroes.

It should be compulsory viewing for anyone who wants, or needs, to be reminded of the true lessons of Leadership.

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Nelson Mandela 20 April 1964