GIVE YOUR RATING OUT OF TEN
Bad											Good
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Lord Joel Joffe

WHEN I was a teenager, Nelson Mandela was the legend of whom everyone was aware.

Free Nelson Mandela slogans were everywhere.

So what a privilege, some 20 years on, to meet one of the men brave enough to stand up and defend him in the Rivonia trials.

Lord Joel Joffe, who lives nearby at Liddington Manor, began by showing a 30-minute film which brought to life Mandela - described by the people who knew him growing up as a "bright kid" who stood out from the rest.

Lord Joffe, was such a delight to listen to, I have to confess I felt partly cheated by spending half of the event at the Arts Centre last night watching a film. But it did, at least, convey a sense of Mandela's brilliance - people who knew him spoke of his strong, forthright, well-dressed and courteous manner.

At the end of the trial, Mandela was imprisoned for life and remained a prisoner for the best part of 30 years in jail.

Having grown up with the legend that is Nelson Mandela, it was amazing to hear insights into the trial and the people involved.

Lord Joffe described the judge as "an arrogant man with little to be arrogant about". He spoke of the corruption at play in the courtrooms of South Africa, he spoke of how the defendants managed to put the Government and apartheid on trial. He spoke of the lies told by witnesses and the bugs placed in interview rooms. He spoke of the risks taken by the defence team alone in agreeing to defend these men.

One got life in prison and died in jail. Lord Joffe himself lost his chance to emigrate to Australia because he was deemed undesirable - and ended up in Britain -setting up Hambro Life in Swindon (later to become better known as Allied Dunbarr) in 1970.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening, though, was the question and answer session at the end of the evening.

Asked what lessons we can learn, he said: "The only lesson to be learnt is the right way to run any country is through democracy."

And the audience erupted in applause.

Lord Joel Joffe's book is The State vs Nelson Mandela .

10:11am Saturday 10th May 2008

Print   Email this   Comment