Johannesburg - The Nelson Mandela Foundation reminded South Africans on Wednesday that the start of the Soccer World Cup also commemorates the day Mandela and his seven comrades were convicted of sabotage."June 11 also has another significance in the history of South Africa... Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Raymond Mhlaba, Denis Goldberg, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi and Govan Mbeki were found guilty, in the Rivonia Trial, of sabotage," the foundation said in a statement."The following day, the eight, who had expected the death sentence, were each sentenced to a term of life imprisonment."This was 46 years ago, in 1964.The date of the Soccer World Cup final, on July 11, also carried historic value in the anti-apartheid struggle."It is the date in 1963 that police raided Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia and made several arrests including Sisulu and Kathrada," said the foundation.
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