Pollsmoor Prison - ‘A tent of blue which prisoners call the sky’ | Western Cape

NNelson Mandela described it as, "the truth of Oscar Wilde's haunting line about the tent of blue that prisoners call the sky”.Pollsmoor Prison undoubtedly played a significant role in shaping South Africa’s history.

This is Pollsmoor Prison

Surrounded by some of the oldest wine estates and upmarket suburbs in the city, the historic prison stands assertively in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai.

Nelson Mandela, along with comrades Walter Sisulu, Andrew Mlangeni and Raymond Mhlaba stepped on the shores of Pollsmoor in March 1982 after spending 18 years on Robben Island. Ahmed Kathrada, also an anti-apartheid activist, followed shortly and was also incarcerated.

All the anti-apartheid activists were kept separate from each other and from the rest of the population to try and curb the spread of anti-apartheid idealism.

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Pollsmoor Prison - ‘A tent of blue which prisoners call the sky’

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