Identity area
Reference code
ZA UWCRIMA MR-RT-063
Title
Govan Mbeki Papers
Date(s)
- 1960 - 1992 (Accumulation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
2 boxes ; Text-based documents
Context area
Name of creator
(9 July 1910 - 30 August 2001)
Biographical history
Historian, anti-apartheid activist, and leading member of the ANC and the SACP. Served on the High Command of MK. Father of former South African president Thabo Mbeki 1999–2008). Convicted in the Rivonia Trial and sentenced to life imprisonment. Released from Robben Island Prison, 1987. Served in South Africa’s post-apartheid Senate, 1994–97, as deputy president of the Senate, and as a member of its successor, the National Council of Provinces, 1997–99. Awarded the ANC’s highest honour, Isitwalandwe Seaparankoe, in 1980. Clan name, Zizi.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Prison letters and writings, unpublished manuscripts, and a proposal for documentary on Govan Mbeki (1992). There is no material directly related to the Rivonia Trial but this collection has been included as it provides insight into the life and personality of one of those involved in the Trial.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted