On May 16, 1983, anti-apartheid leader Walter Sisulu was re-arrested by South African authorities despite already serving a life sentence since the infamous Rivonia Trial of 1964. Sisulu, a senior member of the African National Congress (ANC), was a central figure in the struggle against apartheid, mentoring leaders like Nelson Mandela. His re-arrest was part of the apartheid government’s strategy to suppress even imprisoned dissenters and to curtail growing resistance inside and outside the country. The incident drew international condemnation and intensified global attention on the inhumanity of the apartheid system. Sisulu would later be released in 1989, becoming a symbol of unwavering resistance.
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