1962

Nelson Mandela

South African police arrest Nelson Mandela near Howick

South Africa's most wanted fugitive was caught working as a chauffeur, under the name David Motsamayi. The sentence that followed was five years, not life.

A roadblock near Howick

On 5 August 1962 — the listing gives only the year — South African police intercepted Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid activist Cecil Williams near Howick in Natal as they returned toward Johannesburg.

Mandela was travelling as Williams's supposed chauffeur under the cover name David Motsamayi. Police rejected the alias and identified him; by one account the arresting officer said he knew perfectly well who both men were.

The interception involved a conspicuous new Austin Westminster and several police cars, and ended roughly seventeen months of underground life for the man newspapers called the Black Pimpernel.

Five years, not life

The charges were inciting workers to strike — an unlawful strike, not rebellion — and leaving South Africa without valid travel documents. He had secretly travelled through Africa and to London seeking political support and military training.

His trial opened in Pretoria on 15 October, and on 7 November 1962 he received consecutive terms of three years and two years.

This was not the Rivonia Trial, and the arrest did not happen at Liliesleaf Farm. The life sentence came from a separate case on 12 June 1964.

What is still argued

Mandela's continuous incarceration, beginning with this arrest, ran 27 years, 6 months and 5 days — but on two different legal bases, the 1962 sentence and then the 1964 one.

Allegations that the CIA supplied the decisive tip remain contested. Later testimony and declassified material show foreign intelligence interest in Mandela; the arrest records do not conclusively reconstruct the source.

Accounts also conflict over who was physically at the wheel when the police stopped the car.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 7 sources not yet audited Date corrected

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet and rewritten from that sheet. This article has not yet had an independent model audit. How the pipeline works →

Date corrected. The research places this at 1962-08-05.

What the sources leave uncertain

The year-only date supplied in the listing is unnecessarily vague: the arrest is firmly dated to 5 August 1962.
Allegations that the CIA supplied the decisive information leading to the arrest remain contested. Later testimony and declassified material show foreign intelligence interest in Mandela, but the consulted arrest records do not conclusively reconstruct the tip's source.
Accounts conflict over who was physically driving when the police intercepted the car. The well-established point is that Mandela was traveling with Williams while posing as his chauffeur.