[27] A decade later Jenkin also created Clearing Central, a 2nd tier exchange for moneyless exchange between groups. The French Communist Party published a press release in his support on 20 May 2011. SLOUCHED on his bed in the small, dingy cell of the notorious jail where he was destined to spend the next 12 years, Tim Jenkin had a flash of inspiration. My heart was racing. Actor: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. su amigo Stephen Lee y a Alex . Moubaris went to the USSR for training. Characterization takes a distant back seat to the ingenious practicalities of the mission itself. La historia del activista sudafricano Tim Jenkin inspira Fuga de Pretoria, . [7][8], Jenkin met Stephen Lee in a sociology class at UCT. 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Jordan Meets Reporter at 'Creed III' Premiere Who 'Teased Him all the Time' in High School: 'I Was the Corny Kid, Right? After acceptance by the ANC, he and Lee received training from the ANC in various tactics, in particular how to spread their propaganda leaflets, and how to set up communication and financial structures. We were contemplating escape even before our conviction. In my early years I had learned to pick the back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he says. "I wanted to run but we just kept walking to the railway station, where we used our money to get in a taxi," Stephen said. : National speaking tour with Tim Jenkin and Karel Boele", "Award for Excellence in the Field of Humanitarian Service", "Daniel Radcliffe touches down in Adelaide for new movie", "Revolutionary Secrets: Technology's Role in the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement", "Sam Neill joins Daniel Radcliffe in 'Escape From Pretoria', "Ch. The pair ended up behind bars in the South African city of Tshwane in 1979 due to their roles as white supporters of Nelson Mandelas then-banned African National Congress (ANC). "Incarcerated in Pretoria Maximum Security Prison, Jenkin and Lee - joined by fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbaris - decide to send the regime a clear message and escape. The movie begins with their early days spent planting harmless pamphlet bombs across Cape Town, before plunging us into the tepid everyday life of political prisoners. Stephen and Tim had to open 11 doors in total, some right next to the guards' office. In 2015 he went on a national tour in Australia organised by Karel Boele speaking about his escape and community currencies. Undeterred, Tim said: From the very first day, we started to collect intelligence about possible escape routes.. Yet fellow prisoners, who had already spent years locked up behind the six-metre high barbed-wire perimeter fence, poured scorn on their ambitions. [14] He afterwards said the prison was "luxury" compared to French prison. People said how can you make keys out of wood, they wouldnt be strong enough, but when we broke them up it was quite a mission, we had to use the chisel.. The sense of freedom was amazing. While Tim - the technical mastermind - was sentenced to 12 years in jail, his friend Stephen got eight years. In my early years I had learned to pick the back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he explained. Eventually, the day comes when Jenkin, Lee, and Fontaine try their escape, and by some miracle, it works. For three years they set off harmless leaflet bombs - explosive devices at the bottom of a shopping bag that could distribute 500 propaganda pamphlets in one 'bang' - spreading word of the liberation movement in public places. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Daniel Radcliffe stars as inmate Tim Jenkin in new film 'Escape To Pretoria' about the famous South African prison break in 1979, The film is set during the during the Apartheid era in Capetown, South Africa, The Pretoria Central Prison divided up prisoners depending on their race, Its gallows, which are left untouched today, could end the lives of seven at once, Sitting on his bed in his jail cell, Tim realised he could fashion a key to unlock the door, Tim was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for supporting Nelson Mandela's ANC, His friend Stephen Lee received eight years for his political "terrorism" fighting apartheid, Once Tim had cracked the third door, inmate Alexis Moumbaris, pictured, joined the escape effort, After leaving South Africa via Tanzania, the pair - now in their 70s - settled in the UK, New Amazon Prime documentary explores the case of Oscar Pistorius who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, Inside audacious Escape From Pretoria where prisoners fled hellhole jail by carving wooden keys for ELEVEN metal doors, Kate and Rio Ferdinand had 'heated' rows over her pregnancy that ended in tears as she thought he 'didn't care', Ed Sheeran reveals wife Cherry 'had a tumour' that could only be treated after birth of 2nd baby as he announces album, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). [2] Goldberg and the others decided to withdraw from the escape, with Goldberg continuing to be involved in the preparations. They both found their sociology course disappointing, as the material reinforced the status quo of apartheid. He's best known as the anti-apartheid activist who. Recalling their rather more successful attempt, Stephen explained: The sense of freedom was amazing. Its when it shoots for more historical import that it falls somewhat short. Elated, they moved on to door three, which, incredibly, worked with the same key as the inner cell door. He worked as a trade unionist and came to South Africa in 1973. We got through the nine doors and then at the final door, we found we couldnt open the lock. As Stephen explained in a previous interview with The Daily Mail, he came up with the solution to end all of their woes during a lonely, quiet night in his prison cell. Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. I made that within a week or two of being there, it wasnt that difficult.. [1], Moumbaris was the only non-South African prisoner, and when Jenkin met him, he appeared as "a little aloof". A guard who found it assumed a colleague was to blame. Banished to the vast prison complex of Pretoria, the countrys administrative capital, Jenkin and Lee are protectively counseled by veteran liberal political prisoner Denis Goldberg (British veteran Ian Hart, giving the character a geezer-y air), who advises them to keep their heads down and to serve their time with dignity as prisoners of conscience. The youngsters, countering that they are instead prisoners of war, immediately set about an escape plan regardless. [2] He worked for about nine years before becoming involved with the ANC [3] as one of the "London Recruits". While the first step toward freedom might have been exhilarating, it was far from their most momentous achievement. Over a long series of dummy runs that took over a year to complete, they got as far as door 10 the door to the outside. In the 1990s he and others created an association dedicated to the memory of Joseph Stalin, later dissolved but re-formed, for his role in creating socialism, with free health and education. For other inquiries, Contact Us. As clunkily deployed in the [] "You are the white Mandela," says a ham-faced warden, all but spitting in the face of anti-apartheid activist Tim Jenkin upon his arrival at Pretoria Local Prison in 1978. In December 1979, Jenkin, Lee and fellow inmate Alex Moumbaris broke out of Pretoria Central Prison using handmade keys to nine of the doors leading out of the prison, after several hair-raising moments after encountering unforeseen obstacles. 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After the escape, the prison was refurbished to improve security. 12 'To build solidarity - that was my task', "Daniel Radcliffe to Star in Prison-Break Drama 'Escape From Pretoria', "Pretoria Prison break: Amazing story of the daring men who escaped notorious apartheid regime jail", "Adelaide transformed into apartheid-era Cape Town for Escape From Pretoria filming", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tim_Jenkin&oldid=1137067993, This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 16:48. When the night came, Denis Goldberg, a political prisoner who would serve 22 years, distracted the guards. He lived and worked in UK and later moved to South Africa. His wife was detained during the same period of his detention, but was later released without charge. Sneaking out of their cells at night, they soon managed to get through door four. He is evidently based on the Egyptian-born French national, Alex Moumbaris, with whom the men actually broke out, although it isn't clear why his character has been fictionalised and the. The last 30-odd years have seen such a wealth of diverse, resonant personal histories emerge from the ashes of apartheid not least that of the actual, not-white Mandela that Escape from Pretoria could well have missed its moment entirely. They had to leave it untested until the actual night of their escape, December 11, 1979 - 18 months after their conviction. Jenkin says that he'd always thought his book was "good movie material" and he wasn't wrong. To improve security French prison Jenkin also created Clearing Central, a 2nd tier exchange for moneyless exchange between.... Peter Jenkin ( born 1948 ) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner activist. The back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he says in my early I... 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