Upington

ISBN: 1865080632

Author: Durbach, Andrea

Condition: Used

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.