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December 31, 2021
Tutu testimony the ticket to freedom in tour trial
Hineani Melbourne
Posted On December 31, 2021
Maori who faced the prospect of jail time for their participation in 1981 Springbok Tour protests are remembering the efforts of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu to defend them.
Archbishop Tutu died this week aged 90.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his stand against South Africa’s racist apartheid laws.
On a visit to Aotearoa in 1983 as the guest of Anglican church leaders, he was asked to appear as a defence witness in the trial of 11 Maori and Pasifika protesters charged with rioting during the Third Test in Auckland.
The only woman in the group, Ripeka Evans, says they faced up to 10 years imprisonment on the charges.
She says the group had to plead with the judge to allow Archbishop Tutu to appear as a special witness.
Even though they were prepared psychologically, it seemed unbelievable when they received confirmation minutes beforehand that the archbiship and Reverend George Armstrong, who had organised his tour, were on their way to the court.
“This tiny enigmatic black man entered the courtroom in the distinct purple robes of office, bearing an ornate tokotoko – and the entire courtroom, bar the judge, rose in reverence of his mana. It was hard to not feel that this was a moment in history where a new fate had been sealed in the struggle against apartheid,” Ms Evans says.
“He came with the purpose of presenting expert evidence on apartheid and in less than seven minutes he delivered a powerful testimony that in no small part was instrumental to our acquittal on several of the most serious charges arising from collective action against apartheid and the 1981 Springbok Tour.”
The group were acquitted of all charges.
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