The Forgotten Prisoners of Apartheid

South Africa became a democratic country in 1994 after years of racial oppression. Thousands of men and women sacrificed their lives to bring that brutal system down. They finally won when Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president. But many of them are still in jail – even though the country went through a much celebrated Truth and Reconciliation process. And, they are not even recognised as political prisoners. So why are they not free? Are these the forgotten prisoners of the struggle against apartheid?

(Photo: Anti-Apartheid protesters demand the release of all the political prisoners in South Africa, Cape Town, 1990. Credit: Rashid Lombard/AFP)