Delegates linked to the Congress Alliance adopted the Freedom Charter, a program calling for a non-racial democratic South Africa. In later years, the state pointed to the Charter and related speeches as evidence of a revolutionary plot. This document became central to how prosecutors tried to frame “treason” in court.
Before dawn, the Security Branch carried out nationwide raids and arrested 156 leaders from the ANC and allied organizations. They were accused of high treason, a charge that could carry the death penalty. The arrests aimed to disrupt organized opposition by tying leaders up in a long court process.
A preliminary hearing opened at the Drill Hall in Johannesburg to test whether the state had enough evidence to send the accused to trial. Large crowds gathered outside, showing the case had become a public political event as well as a legal one. The hearing marked the start of years of court appearances for many defendants.
During the preparatory examination, the state added additional defendants, bringing the number charged back to 156. Prosecutors continued building a broad narrative that the Congress Alliance was working to overthrow the government. Defense lawyers argued the Freedom Charter did not call for violence and was not treason.
After months of preliminary proceedings, the Attorney General withdrew charges against 61 people. This reduced the scope of the case and signaled problems with proving treason against such a large group. The state continued pursuing the remaining accused while reorganizing its legal strategy.
The preparatory examination concluded with the magistrate finding enough evidence for a full treason trial to proceed. The accused pleaded not guilty and were generally released on bail, but the long case continued to restrict their movement and organizing. The decision moved the matter from preliminary hearings toward a major Supreme Court trial.
Proceedings shifted to Pretoria, where 91 people were put on trial for high treason. The prosecution argued that political campaigns and the Freedom Charter showed a plan to replace the state with a communist system. Defense teams challenged the indictment and the practicality of the huge volume of documents the state introduced.
As the case struggled under its own size, prosecutors re-indicted a smaller group and narrowed the charge to a conspiracy linked closely to the Congress of the People and the Freedom Charter. This shift showed the state’s effort to salvage a conviction by focusing on fewer defendants and a tighter story. It also set up a split process: a main trial for 30 and separate handling for others.
When the state tried to proceed against the other accused, the court criticized the prosecution for not clearly explaining how the alleged conspiracy was formed. The ruling forced the state to decide whether to re-indict with better details, and it allowed many defendants to go home. The decision further concentrated the Treason Trial on the smaller set of accused.
Police opened fire on an anti-pass-law crowd at Sharpeville, killing dozens and wounding many more. The event led to a declared state of emergency, mass detentions, and intensified state repression. This national crisis directly affected political trials, including the Treason Trial, by changing detention and legal conditions around the accused.
In the aftermath of Sharpeville and the emergency measures, the government outlawed the ANC and other organizations. The Treason Trial continued under heightened security conditions, and defendants faced additional restrictions and disruptions to normal legal support. The political environment made the trial part of a broader struggle over whether opposition politics would be treated as criminal conspiracy.
The Special High Court in Pretoria delivered its judgment, acquitting the remaining defendants and ending the state’s long attempt to prove high treason. The judgment concluded the prosecution had not shown the ANC was a communist organization or that the accused planned violent overthrow in the way required to prove treason. Although the defendants were cleared, the state’s broader crackdown continued and later shifted to other prosecutions and bans.
Treason Trial (1956–1961)