Prison notebook V2957/88

Abstract

Gertrude Fester captures an important time and place in the history of South Africa. Apartheid South Africa was a violent, torturous, exploitative and oppressive system to live under. As citizens, the choice was to fight or submit to apartheid. She chose to fight against the racist regime. This fight led to her imprisonment under Section 29 and she was tried under the Treason and later Terrorism Acts. In the Western Cape, a province largely constituted of people of mixed ancestry (First Nation and slave among other), Gertrude has shown great leadership in asserting citizenship in the country of her birth. This struggle continues today, albeit in other forms of creating a voice for the indigenous people of the Cape.