Political prisoners

In 1964 David Kitson was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for sabotage. In the late 1950s he worked as a draughtsman in Britain and was a member of the trade union DATA, later TASS. As soon as it heard of his arrest, the union formed the Free Dave Kitson Committee. For the next 20 years TASS campaigned for his release and helped support his family. David Kitson served his full sentence and was freed in 1984.

On 4 May 1978 South African troops massacred over 600 Namibian refugees at Kassinga in southern Angola. After the massacre hundreds of Namibians were abducted from refugee transit centres in southern Angola and around 130 of them were detained indefinitely at a South African military base in northern Namibia. Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) and the Namibia Support Committee campaigned for their release. These postcards called on the South African government to free them and asked the British Foreign Secretary and UN Secretary General to intervene. The detainees were eventually released in 1984.

Women played a big role in the liberation struggles in Namibia and Zimbabwe, as well as in South Africa. This pamphlet tells the stories of Southern African women who were imprisoned and banned because they fought back against apartheid and racism. It was published by the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF) and distributed by the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Oscar Mpetha was a South African trade union leader and founder member of SACTU (South African Congress of Trade Unions). In 1980 he was arrested after taking part in protests in Nyanga, Cape town, in which two people were killed. This leaflet asked AAM supporters to picket South Africa House on the opening day of his trial. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment and eventually released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday.

British trade unionists protested outside South Africa House on the first day of the trial of veteran South African trade unionist Oscar Mpetha on 3 March 1981. After a long trial Mpetha was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday. In the picture is Bill Rampton from the train drivers union ASLEF, with the banner of the committee set up by the draughtsmen’s trade union AUEW (TASS) to support its former member, political prisoner David Kitson.

British trade unionists protested outside South Africa House in London on the first day of the trial of veteran South African trade unionist Oscar Mpetha on 3 March 1981. After a long trial Mpetha was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was released in 1989 soon after his 80th birthday. Left to right: General Secretaries Jack Boddy from the Agricultural Workers Union, Alan Sapper from the film technicians union ACTT and Stan Pemberton, President of the Transport and General Workers Union.

Southern Africa the Imprisoned Society (SATIS) marked the UN Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners on 11 October 1981 with a vigil on the steps of St Martin’s in the Fields. The vigil protested at the repression of the South African trade union movement and called for the release of veteran trade unionist Oscar Mpetha.

In January 1982 Steven Kitson was detained by the South African security police when he travelled to South Africa to visit his father David Kitson in prison in Pretoria. David Kitson was serving a 20-year sentence for sabotage. Steven’s mother Norma Kitson and sister Amandla protested outside the South African Embassy in London demanding his release. Steven was threatened by the security police and eventually freed.