Upington - Softcover

Durbach, Andrea

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1865080632 ISBN 13: 9781865080635

Publisher: Allen & Unwin, 2000

Synopsis

A story of personal and political transformation, this book is a revealing history of South Africa on the eve of Mandela's release, and the personal story of one woman who paid a high price for her commitment to social justice. In 1985, Andrea Durbach was appointed attorney for the Upington 25, a group of blacks from the Paballelo township arrested for the murder of a local policeman. Fourteen of the defendants were sentenced to death, and for four ensuing years she and barrister Anton Lubowski fought to secure their freedom. While preparing to appeal the verdict, Lubowski was assassinated by forces later linked to the apartheid regime, and Andrea Durbach was forced to flee her homeland. A refugee, separated from her family and cut off from the fight against apartheid, Durbach had to rebuild her life and come to terms with her South African past. In 1991, she returned to South Africa and won the Upington case on appeal, thus securing freedom for all of the accused.

About this title

About the Author

Andrea Durbach is an attorney and the director of the Public Interest Advocacy Center.

From Kirkus Reviews

A moving and eloquent reminder of the law's power to do good, from a South African attorney (now living in Australia) who helped defend the so-called Upington 25 in South Africa's largest murder trial.Born in 1957, Durbach grew up during a time when apartheid seemed invincible and the likelihood of ending it peacefully seemed equally impossible. A daughter of affluent white liberals, Durbach was actively involved in protest politics from high school on, and after graduation from law school she joined one of the few white law firms in Cape Town committed to political work. In 1985, as protests in the black townships escalated, a crowd assembled one day to discuss grievances in the remote rural town of Upington and was attacked by the police. In retaliation, some marched to the home of a black policeman, dragged him outside, and set him on fire. In the first trial that ensued, 25 were found guilty of murder, which under the prevailing legal system automatically carried the death penalty. In 1988, Durbach was asked by charismatic attorney Anton Lubowski to help with the appeal. She accepted readily, although she knew it would be emotionally draining work, a period of enduring discovery. She and her colleagues on the defense team fought for extensions and called in experts who evoked the defense of deindividuation (a psychological theory that explains individual criminal behavior in crowd situations). During the trial she also got to know the defendants, who included an illiterate grandmother, a boxer, and an artist. When their efforts failed and 14 of the defendants were sentenced to death (with the remainder receiving long jail sentences), an exhausted Durbach headed to Australia on sabbatical. But Mandela's release changed everything: eventually, 21 of the 25 murder convictions were overturned, and the remaining 4 served brief prison terms. A memorable dispatch from the frontlines of those who fought for justice in the beleaguered end days of apartheid. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Allen & Unwin
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1865080632
• ISBN 13: 9781865080635
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 267