Vernon Berrangé
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Vernon Celliers Berrangé
SCOT The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
''"Defender of the People"'' (25 November 1900 – 14 September 1983) was an eminent South African human rights advocate (QC)


Forebears

Berrangé's forebears were in the third wave of
French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...
s who went to the
Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
(via
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
) in 1775 and as history evolved became
Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
(
Boers Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...
). The Berrangés were essentially a family of
Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family an ...
ministers, but there were also "sick-comforters," medical doctors, public servants, politicians and advocates. His mother was Elizabeth Theresa Krogh. Berrangé's maternal grandfather, Johannes C. Krogh of
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extraction, was Special Commissioner sent from the South African Republic to
Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
(1894 to 1898), head of the Boundary Commission that settled the border between Swaziland and
Moçambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
(Maputo) in 1897 and one of the Boer signatories to the " Treaty of the Peace of Vereeniging".


Family

Berrangé married (7 March 1930) Yolande Viviane Brewer, ''née'' de Pierres (born 1900), who loved and supported him in all ways for 50 years until her death (1980). They had one son, Jevan Pierres Berrangé (b. 1931, d. 2018); a daughter Gelda Frances Berrangé (b.8 February 1927, d. 2015), and a son Eric Brewer (b. 15 June 1921, d. 30 March 2010) from their respective earlier marriages.


Education

Berrangé was born in Pretoria soon after it had been occupied by the British during the Anglo-Boer War. He received his primary education at the Falk Real Gymnasium in Berlin (1907–1910) and at the German School in Johannesburg (1911). His secondary school was Hilton College,
Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...
, where he is commemorated on a plaque as "Scholar of the Year'". On leaving school (1917) he enlisted as one of Major Miller's recruits and became a Lieutenant in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, being trained in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, UK. After demobilisation (1919) he returned to South Africa and worked briefly for the Institute for Medical Research before going to the University of Cape Town from which he graduated (1924) with a law degree – BA LLB


Recreation and other interests

Berrangé was an immaculate dresser and had a penchant for high living and fast cars. He was always against authority, loved a challenge and revelled in danger. He was a very active man, both intellectually and physically. Sports at school, in the RAF and at university included boxing, rowing, rugby and swimming. Later he became a
motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
driver (1932) on South African circuits. He had a large collection of sporting firearms and was keen on big game hunting and bird shooting. His considerable knowledge of guns and ballistics was something that he found useful in some of his criminal cases. In the 1930s he had an interest in a small
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to: *Gold Mine (board game) *Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena *"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album '' ADHD'' See also * ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith *Gold mining ...
in Swaziland. He read avidly and travelled widely in Africa and Europe.


Communist

Berrangé joined the
South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...
of his own volition in about 1938, holding the opinion that it was an organisation which expressed in practice those economic and social theories which appealed to him. Berrangé was an ordinary member attached to the Central Branch in Johannesburg, except for a period when he was on a committee dealing with Industrial Legislation and Trade Union Work. Berrangé resigned from the SACP in 1950 when and because it was dissolved, after the passing of the
Suppression of Communism Act The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribed ...
1950. Berrangé later reappraised and radically changed his views, to become critical of the theories and practices of the party. Despite this change of views he remained friends with some former comrades and subsequently was a member of the team defending
Bram Fischer Abraham Louis Fischer (23 April 1908 – 8 May 1975) was a South African Communist lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, at the Rivonia T ...
in court.


Legal career

Berrangé was admitted to the South African Bar in 1924 but in 1926 he left the Bar and went into partnership with his father, James Louis Steyn Berrangé (born 16 October 1865,died 1931), as an attorney. He remained at the Side Bar until 1950 when he was re-admitted to the Bar where he remained until his retirement in 1966. Berrangé built up a reputation as an outstanding criminal defence and human rights lawyer with a reputation for devastating cross-examination. He was a co-founder of The Organisation for Rights and Justice and Chairman of the Legal Aid Society. As such he was often willing to accept briefs in cases where non-whites were charged under the discriminatory apartheid laws, and in such cases usually acted
pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
.


Special wartime duties

In 1941 Berrangé was charged with special duties by Brigadier General Collyer, Military Secretary to
General Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
. These duties included seeking out fascists who might be infiltrating the armed forces. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, however, Berrangé would find himself increasingly involved in defending the human rights of those prosecuted by the Nationalist Government some of whose members had been supporters of the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
.


Alexandra bus boycott

Following the
Alexandra Township Alexandra, informally abbreviated to Alex, is a township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and is located next to the wealthy suburb of Sandton. It is commonly known as ...
bus boycott (1944), organised in response to the bus companies raising bus fares by a penny, the Government passed emergency legislation that prohibited all meetings. Communists Bram Fischer and Berrangé discovered a legal loophole in this legislation which meant that the boycotters could still assemble and march. However, when discussing this loophole over the phone, their lines were tapped by the police who thereby learned of it and hastily redrafted the legislation. The boycotters won their concessions in the end. This was the first of many times that Berrangé and Fischer worked together for justice for the oppressed.


African mine workers' strike

In 1946, whilst he was on holiday in Europe, Berrangé received a phone call from Bram Fischer asking him to return to South Africa to defend him and others on a charge of inciting the African Mine Workers' Strike. This was strongly supported by the SACP. Some 70,000 African miners took part in this momentous strike which lasted five days before it was violently put down by the police at the cost of eleven miners killed and more than 1,200 injured. The 52 defendants pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a strike, but they received relatively modest sentences


The F.M. Alexander case

Together with others including Harold Hanson and Bram Fischer, Berrangé acted for
F. M. Alexander Frederick Matthias Alexander (20 January 1869 – 10 October 1955) was an Australian actor and author who developed the Alexander Technique, an educational process that recognizes and overcomes reactive, habitual limitations in movement and thi ...
in the high-profile Alexander Libel Trial which caused an international stir. Berrangé was initially introduced to the Alexander Technique by his wife, Yolande. In the 1940s all close family members were having "Alexander lessons" from Irene Tasker who had been taught by Alexander in New York and London, and his son Jevan was attending Tasker's
Montessori The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...
school. When Dr Ernst Jokl, Director of Physical Education to the South African Government and apparently hostile to the Alexander Technique, asked Tasker to demonstrate the Technique, she arranged for Berrangé to be present as a legal witness. Upon reading Jokl's subsequent article in the SA Government journal 'Volkskragte', Berrangé was of the opinion that it was libellous and suggested that Tasker show it to Alexander, whom subsequently started libel proceedings. As instructing attorney for Alexander, Berrangé journeyed to London in 1946 to help prepare the case with his client and English Counsel. He became friendly with Alexander, who joined Berrangé and his wife Yolande and the Barlows (Bill and Marjory, Alexander Technique teachers) on a short holiday to France. The trial proper was heard in South Africa in 1948. Alexander won his case and was awarded damages.


The Treason Trial

The circumstances which led to the South African Treason Trial, the proceedings, and the conclusion some ten years later, all demonstrated Berrangé's personal qualities and professional skill. In 1951 when the leaders of the Congress Movement developed a plan involving deliberate defiance of the apartheid laws, Berrangé was consulted on its legal implications. After the Defiance Campaign during which some 8,000 volunteers went to prison; in 1955 the Congress of the People organised a convention, attended by thousands of delegates, to present the Freedom Charter that was essentially a call for a democratic South Africa in which "all shall enjoy equal human rights". The Nationalist Government's reaction to this was to arrest 156 people and charge them with high
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, a crime punishable by the death penalty. The accused represented a cross-section of South Africans from all walks of life and included
Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Higher education Oliv ...
, Chief
Albert Luthuli Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli ( – 21 July 1967) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, traditional leader, and politician who served as the President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until his death in 1967. Luthuli wa ...
(winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
),
Helen Joseph Helen Beatrice Joseph (''née'' Fennell) (8 April 1905 – 25 December 1992) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Born in Sussex, England, Helen graduated with a degree in English from the University of London in 1927 and then departed ...
and
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
. The formidable defence team included Berrangé who, in a stirring opening address at the preliminary hearing, contended, inter alia, that the ideas and beliefs expressed in the Freedom Charter, although opposed to the policy of the Government, were shared by the overwhelming majority of humankind, of all races and all colours, and also the overwhelming majority of the country's citizens. He argued that the treason allegations amounted to a political plot comparable with the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
and the Reichstag Fire Trial, and were an attempt to silence and outlaw the ideas held by the accused and the thousands whom they represented. This vibrant address was published in newspapers around the world. The State alleged that holding the Congress of the People and adopting the
Freedom Charter The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats ...
constituted steps towards the establishment of a communist state and the prelude to revolution. They aimed to show that speeches and writings by the accused were communistic. Probably the most farcical event in the trial occurred when expert witness for the prosecution, Prof. A.H. Murray of the University of Cape Town, gave evidence on the nature of communism and the infallible clues that he claimed indicated certain statements and speeches were communistic or communist inspired. Berrangé's cross-examination was dramatic. He read out a number of statements by various people and the professor agreed that these were "the sort of statements that communists make". Berrangé then revealed that the statements had been made by persons such as former SA Prime Minister Malan, President
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, William Pitt, Heine, Luther,
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
,
Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
and
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and finally one written by Prof Murray himself in the 1930s! The accused had been arrested in December 1956, but it was only in March 1961, after numerous hearings, that by unanimous verdict the Court found all the accused not guilty and Berrangé was carried aloft outside the court.


Move to Swaziland and retirement

In 1959 Berrangé left
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
to live in
Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
, where he acquired Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies thereby forfeiting his South African citizenship and passport. He continued to practise law intermittently, both in the Republic of South Africa and Swaziland, until his full retirement in 1966 and resignation from the Johannesburg Bar. The proceedings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission show that South African Government continued to keep Berrange under close surveillance whenever he visited the country. He was briefly on a committee whose purpose was to afford assistance to political refugees from South Africa. In 1963, at the time of the Rivonia arrests, two suspects,
Harold Wolpe Harold Wolpe (14 January 1926 – 19 January 1996) was a South African lawyer, sociologist, political economist and anti-apartheid activist. He was arrested and put in prison in 1963 but escaped and spent 30 years in exile in the United Kingdom. ...
and
Arthur Goldreich Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of the form of Zionism practiced in Israel. Early life Gold ...
, made a spectacular jail break from the Johannesburg Fort and eventually managed to get to Swaziland where Berrangé helped by arranging a charter plane to fly them to Bechuanaland (
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
) Berrangé died in Swaziland in 1983 at Siteki, Lubombo.


The Rivonia Trial

The
Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justice ...
was the outcome of a raid on Liliesleaf Farm at Rivonia near Johannesburg on 11 July 1963, when police arrested seven alleged members of the armed wing of the African National Congress, seizing many highly incriminating documents of their activities and plans. The accused included
Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), h ...
,
Ahmed Kathrada Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada (21 August 1929 – 28 March 2017), sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. Kathrada's involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African National Con ...
,
Raymond Mhlaba Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba (12 February 1920 – 20 February 2005) was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) also as well the first premier of the Eastern Cape. Mhlaba spent 25 years of his life ...
,
Rusty Bernstein Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rusty Anderson (born 1959 ...
and Nelson Mandela, who had been arrested later upon release from jail. The charge was sabotage and the death sentence seemed likely. The defence team was led by Bram Fischer and included Berrangé, whom he asked to come from Swaziland. He accepted unhesitatingly despite risking ex-communication from the legal profession as he knew that the government was drafting legislation which would permit them to debar any "named" communist from practising law in South Africa. Berrangé had special responsibility for the defence of Bernstein, Mhlaba and Kathrada. Once again, his devastating cross-examination exposed inconsistencies and outright lies in the testimony of many of the state witnesses. With the exception of Bernstein, all the accused were found guilty and sentenced to lengthy jail terms (from 22 to 27 years) but avoided the death penalty.


Looksmart Ngudle inquest

As part of a crack-down following the Rivonia raid, in mid-August 1963 the police arrested
Looksmart Khulile Ngudle Looksmart Khulile Ngudle 2 May 1922–was a South African politician. He was a Member of the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party (SACP), an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Commander and South African Congress of Trade Union ...
, a regional leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Sixteen days later he was found hanged in his cell. Despite the police's best attempts at suppression of the cause of his death they were eventually forced to hold an inquest. Berrangé represented Ngudle's widow and decided to turn the inquest into a forum on police torture. When the Court deemed evidence of torture to other detainees as inadmissible Berrangé withdrew from the proceedings in protest. The matter was subsequently raised in Parliament by
Helen Suzman Helen Suzman, OMSG, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She represented a series of liberal and centre-left opposition parties during her 36-year tenure in th ...
to the great embarrassment of the Government.


Trial of Rusty Bernstein

Shortly after his acquittal in the Rivonia Trial, Rusty Bernstein was arrested again on three charges under the Suppression of Communism Act. Berrangé again Rusty and his wife Hilda were thus able to flee to the UK via
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
.


The Fischer Trial

Berrangé's last political trial was defending his friend and colleague
Bram Fischer Abraham Louis Fischer (23 April 1908 – 8 May 1975) was a South African Communist lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, at the Rivonia T ...
, who along with 14 others had been charged in 1964 under the Suppression of Communism Act. In the event Fischer realised the futility of his case and whilst the trial was in progress skipped bail and went underground to continue the struggle against apartheid. He was recaptured nine months later in November 1965, put on trial for a second time, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.


Award

In 2010 Berrangé was posthumously awarded The Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo in silver "for his excellent contribution to the struggle against racial oppression in South Africa".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berrange, Vernon Celliers 1900 births 1983 deaths Afrikaner anti-apartheid activists 20th-century South African lawyers Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo People from Pretoria Alumni of Hilton College (South Africa)