Item Belt 4 - DB - Quashing of indictment (Continued)

Tuesday 29 October, 1963

This is the first day for which there are available dictabelt recordings of the court proceedings of the Rivonia Trial – although it was not the first day of trial itself. Three weeks prior to this day, on 9th October, 1963, the eleven men (including Bob Hepple) first appeared in the Palace of Justice in Pretoria in what would become known as the Rivonia Trial. Judge De Wet had postponed proceedings for three weeks so that the state and defence counsels could prepare for the hearing on the sufficiency of the charges listed in the indictment which took place on this day. The earliest available dictabelt recording begins a short while into Mr Fischer’s analysis of the state’s response to the request for particulars in which the state had unsatisfactorily answered on numerous occasions that “facts were in the knowledge of the accused” or simply refused answer.

Dr Lowen made his motion to quash the indictment in regard to James Kantor before Mr Fischer had concluded his application on behalf of the remaining accused (aside from Bob Hepple). Towards the end of Dr Lowen’s argument to quash the indictment Judge De Wet announced that he wished to hear the bail applications on this day and said that Dr Lowen could continue his argument tomorrow morning if he felt it necessary to do so. Mr Shwartz thereafter stood and continued with his bail application on behalf of James Kantor which he had already begun on a previous day. Proceedings concluded on this day with Mr Fischer delivering a bail application on behalf of Accused No.6, Lionel Bernstein.

Dictabelts: (Vol.48/1B/Belt 2) (Vol.48/1B/Belt 3) (Vol.48/1B/Belt 4) (Vol.48/1B/Belt 5) (Vol.48/1B/Belt 6) (Vol.48/1B/Belt 7) (Vol.48/1B/Belt 8) (Vol.48/1B/Belt 9) (Vol.48/5B/Belt 10).