On December 11th, 1979, three white activists, Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris, escaped from Pretoria Central Prison. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. He left for the UK in 1970, where, working in a fibreglass factory under poor working conditions and little pay, found the system unjust and developed an interest in sociology. But fortunately the metal of the keyhole marked where it was getting jammed, meaning Tim could accurately file it down to size. After months of meticulous surveillance, breath-taking ingenuity, and in a race against time as the authorities strengthen the prison security defenses, the group craft wooden keys for each of the 10 steel doors separating them from the main door and freedom. Nathan Page. View our online Press Pack. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Lee moved back to Cape Town in December after enrolling in a master's degree in sociology, and the two continued their undercover work, but unbeknownst to them they were by this time under surveillance by the Security Branch of the South African Police. In front of him was a lock - and the sight of it was enough to propel him to his feet and set to work making a wooden key that would help him and fellow inmate Stephen Lee make it to freedom. lindbacken fastigheter He signalled his wish to be included in any possible escape plan to Jenkin even before the idea was presented to him, after Jenkin had mentioned he and Lee had brought some money into prison. This virus has brutally disrupted many cinematic dreams. "We would go to crowded bus stations and markets and leave them. The escape preparations brought some differences of opinion amongst the political prisoners, but they remained comrades and all contributed in some way to the escape effort. My heart was racing. Tim Jenkin and his allies were imprisoned at Pretoria Prison in South Africa. He also participated in a local parkrun, a hobby which he said stemmed back from his days of running to keep fit in prison. Home Office Minister Mark Carlisle said no evidence had been found at that time of South African responsibility for illegal activities, but appropriate action would be taken should it appear. This was legal under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, which allowed detention without trial for up to 60 days, and was extendable. 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. So it is a very strange sort of thing., Jenkin continues: It is very exciting [to watch] but I knew the outcome. He continued: [It was] the only thing we managed to keep; we got rid of the all the keys immediately, but for some reason we kept thatprobably as a weapon. They achieved this mission, managing to distribute hundreds of leaflets by means of several leaflet bombs, the text of which is reproduced in Jenkin's memoir. Using an ingenious homemade wooden key attached, like a crankshaft, to the end of a broomstick, Tim had just got through his outer cell door. Moumbaris was the only non-South African prisoner, and when Jenkin met him, he appeared as "a little aloof". Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. It was dangerous, they did have regular inspections. While reminiscing about his childhood years, he suddenly remembered how he would pick locks back at home. I felt so elated.". The inmate took a piece of paper, stuffed it into the lock using a knife and measured the depth. In February 1974, Jenkin and Lee left the country in order to join the ANC in London, with the intention of helping to bring about change in South Africa. It was hugely emotional. folktandvrden karlskoga flyttar . Years later, while based in Camden, North London, he would set up a rudimentary computer that enabled coded messages to be sent from the ANC to their agents and even to Mandela in prison. Escape From Pretoria premiered on March 4, 2020. [22], After their incarceration, Jenkin, Lee and several other inmates began plotting an escape, which would involve copies of several prison keys that Jenkin made from wood. United Nations High Commission for Refugees, "Press Conference by O. R. Tambo, Introducing Alexandre Moumbaris, Stephen Lee and Timothy Jenkin who Escaped from Prison in South Africa", "Ambassador Molekane receives stalwart of the apartheid struggle Alex Moumbaris at the SA Embassy", "Media Statement by the Chancellor of the National Orders and Director-General in the Presidency, Dr. Cassius Lubisi, at the Union Buildings, Pretoria", "Daniel Radcliffe to Star in Prison-Break Drama 'Escape From Pretoria', "Sam Neill joins Daniel Radcliffe in 'Escape From Pretoria', "Adelaide transformed into apartheid-era Cape Town for Escape From Pretoria filming", "Daniel Radcliffe touches down in Adelaide for new movie", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alex_Moumbaris&oldid=1101678249, All Wikipedia articles written in South African English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from July 2017, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 August 2022, at 07:50. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. [2], He and Jenkin carried out a first trial run of the escape plan, and were involved in a couple of scrapes which nearly led to discovery in the lead-up to the escape. [19], In 2014 a documentary film called The Vula Connection, about Jenkin and his part in the creation of an ingenious secret communication system that enabled Vula operatives to penetrate South Africa's borders in secret, ultimately smuggling messages to the imprisoned Nelson Mandela, was made by Marion Edmunds. Adapted from Jenkin's memoir of his time served and resourcefully cut short as a South African political prisoner in the country's darkest . Moumbaris is renamed Leonard Fontaine and played by Mark Leonard Winter.[27][28]. [2] He worked for about nine years before becoming involved with the ANC [3] as one of the "London Recruits". Success came after many long nights of painstaking effort and risk. The pair were initially kept in solitary confinement for a month before being charged with political "terrorism" in a trial in June 1978. [24], In May 2017, it was announced production would start on a film of Jenkin's book, produced by David Barron and starring Daniel Radcliffe as Jenkin and Ian Hart as Goldberg. We were working in a carpentry workshop and I thought, I wonder if we can make a key out of wood. There were a few worrying signs that Jenkin was being monitored, but he went to London to see Robin for six weeks and returned without incident. Escape from Pretoria at IMDb "20 Films That Starred 3 Or More Harry Potter Actors". The wooden key didnt work at first. Now Escape From Pretoria tells the story of Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white South African activists, imprisoned in 1978 for working on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC), and their escape from the notorious white mans Robben Island, Pretoria Prison. Alex Moumbaris was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on the 20 June 1973, which he started serving in the Pretoria Local Prison. I made that within a week or two of being there, it wasnt that difficult.. why is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoriavsters friluftsomrde. Why? For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. Escape From Pretoria, the political thriller Annan co-wrote and directed, is based on a 1987 memoir by Tim Jenkin, in which Jenkin relates his 1979 escape from Pretoria Central Prison,. Thence to Mozambique, and, via contact with FRELIMO, to Angola, where from the ANC office in Luanda they were able to make phone calls to their families, and were also given the news Lee was on his way to join them at the airport. Door three fortunately worked with the same key as the inner cell door. [22], In 2013, the story of the prison escape was dramatised in the 7th episode of the 2nd season of Breakout, a television series made by National Geographic TV channel dramatising real-life prison escapes. The layout of the prison cell Tim escaped fromAfter making most of the key in his first week, Tim also needed to smuggle it back to his cell. As clunkily deployed in the script for Escape from Pretoria, however, the line acts as a shortcut to nobility, in a tight genre exercise that has scant time for such elaborate niceties as character development and social context. It took them months to crack the fourth lock. Escape from Pretoria makes an ideal everyman out of Daniel Radcliffe The actor plays Tim Jenkin, a real-life political prisoner during apartheid-era South Africa, who made a daring escape in 1979 The film will be especially endearing to viewers who love to hone in on how to, for example, make tools that look innocuous and can be easily hidden. In December 1979, Jenkin, Lee, and fellow inmate Alex Moumbaris successfully escaped from the prison with Jenkin unlocking nine of its doors while Goldberg distracted the warden. [5] He later wrote that he had "grown up a 'normal' complacent white South African" who "unthinkingly accepted the system and for twenty-one years never questioned it". They were very big locks so you could see the marks on the inside. The film Escape from Pretoria was based on Tim Jenkins' book Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Central Prison. From the very first day, we started to collect intelligence about possible escape routes, says Tim, who now lives in Johannesburg. It took until the next day for guards to realise they were missing, and a huge police operation to recapture them was launched. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. I was so worried it was making a tremendous noise. Again Tims ingenuity was tested. [23], As the plan evolved it became clear that for the escape to be successful it would have to be restricted to three people, who would have to hide in a small closet at one point. [17] Lee, having many friends in Johannesburg, thought it best to contact them in the first instance, so the group split at that point, making plans to meet in London. [12], After the success of their first mission, Jenkin worked on refining the mechanism by adding a triggering system to the leaflet bomb, so that they did not have to be close to it when it went off. [12], Moumbaris, although enrolled in university courses, did not undertake formal studies at all while in prison; it was a cover so extra books could be obtained from the university library for everyone to make use of; it was a way of keeping themselves informed about the world. Jenkin's autobiography Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison is the inspiration for the screenplay and will tell the story of how Jenkin, Lee and Alex Moumbaris escaped the prison using. He is known for his political activism against the apartheid rgime in South Africa in the 1970s, and his subsequent incarceration in, and 1979 escape from, Pretoria Local . skuggans caf lngtora. It was suspected South African agents may have raided the home for documents to use in Moumbaris' trial. It was gut-wrenching the length of time we were given, he says. At night there were dogs in the yard.. 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