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T
he history of the Constitution Hill Precinct
in Braamfontein Johannesburg goes back
to 1892 when the Old Fort was built under
the
Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek
. Except for the
four years of the South African War (1899 – 1902)
when it served as a military defence post, the
Fort functioned as a prison. During the Apartheid
years it became notorious for its harsh treatment
of ordinary men and women who were imprisoned
for contravening colonial and apartheid legislation,
and Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Robert
Sobukwe, Joe Slovo, Bram Fischer, Albert Luthuli,
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Albertina Sisulu and
Fatima Meer list among the many political activ-
ists who were incarcerated there before being
Looking at the
transferred, once sentenced, to serve their prison
terms elsewhere.
Although the Old Fort complex was declared
a National Monument in 1964, it continued as a
functioning prison until 1987. After that time, the
buildings and site were left to run down until they
were identified as the location for the new Consti-
tutional Court. Today, the city precinct – managed
to the
LiD
11-12/14
4