Escape from jail

Escape from jail
Arthur Goldreich, an engineer and a Congress of Democrats (formed after the SACP was banned in 1950) leader, and Harold Wolpe, a lawyer who used SACP funds to buy Liliesleaf, helped locate sabotage sites for MK, and helped draft a disciplinary code for guerrillas. Wolpe was picked up at the border shortly after the Liliesleaf arrests in 1963, and taken to Marshall Square prison cells in the city where Goldreich was being kept. There they met up with Mosie Moola and Abdulhay Jassat, who were members of the South African Indian Congress, allied to the ANC. Moola and Jassat had been held in solitary confinement, arrested under the Sabotage Act, where they had been tortured in custody (believed to be the first people tortured in jail). Wolpe had represented them and the charge had been withdrawn, but they had been arrested again immediately after their release. The four men befriended Constable Johannes Greef, a burly 18-year-old prison warder in his first job. The five of them plotted an escape from the prison, with the naïve Greef agreeing to unlock the external doors so that the four men could escape, then knocking himself out in one of the cells. Greef even offered alternative escape plans. He was to be paid the sum of R3 000 for his help. The payment was made in 1994. The four men escaped successfully, splitting up outside the prison. Moola and Jassat were picked up by a friend while walking down Commissioner Street in downtown Johannesburg. Wolpe and Goldreich spent several days hiding in and around Johannesburg’s suburbs. They were driven to Swaziland, and from there they were flown to Botswana, disguised as priests, and then, after several planes sent to fetch them caught alight, they eventually reached the Democratic Republic of Congo. Wolpe and Goldreich flew to London where their families joined them. Their wives had both been picked up by the police and spent several days being questioned at Marshall Square. Some time later Goldreich and his wife divorced, and he moved to Israel in 1964. He died in 2011 at the age of 82. Wolpe lived with his family for 27 years in London, where he became an academic. He remained an active member of the ANC and the SACP. In 1991 he and his wife and son returned to South Africa, settling in Cape Town, leaving their two daughters in Europe. He died in 1996 at the age of 70.

Arthur Goldreich, an engineer and a Congress of Democrats (formed after the SACP was banned in 1950) leader, and Harold Wolpe, a lawyer who used SACP funds to buy Liliesleaf, helped locate sabotage sites for MK, and helped draft a disciplinary code for guerrillas. Wolpe was picked up at the border shortly after the Liliesleaf arrests in 1963, and taken to Marshall Square prison cells in the city where Goldreich was being kept.

There they met up with Mosie Moola and Abdulhay Jassat, who were members of the South African Indian Congress, allied to the ANC. Moola and Jassat had been held in solitary confinement, arrested under the Sabotage Act, where they had been tortured in custody (believed to be the first people tortured in jail). Wolpe had represented them and the charge had been withdrawn, but they had been arrested again immediately after their release.

The four men befriended Constable Johannes Greef, a burly 18-year-old prison warder in his first job. The five of them plotted an escape from the prison, with the naïve Greef agreeing to unlock the external doors so that the four men could escape, then knocking himself out in one of the cells. Greef even offered alternative escape plans. He was to be paid the sum of R3 000 for his help. The payment was made in 1994.

The four men escaped successfully, splitting up outside the prison. Moola and Jassat were picked up by a friend while walking down Commissioner Street in downtown Johannesburg. Wolpe and Goldreich spent several days hiding in and around Johannesburg’s suburbs. They were driven to Swaziland, and from there they were flown to Botswana, disguised as priests, and then, after several planes sent to fetch them caught alight, they eventually reached the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Wolpe and Goldreich flew to London where their families joined them. Their wives had both been picked up by the police and spent several days being questioned at Marshall Square. Some time later Goldreich and his wife divorced, and he moved to Israel in 1964. He died in 2011 at the age of 82.

Wolpe lived with his family for 27 years in London, where he became an academic. He remained an active member of the ANC and the SACP. In 1991 he and his wife and son returned to South Africa, settling in Cape Town, leaving their two daughters in Europe. He died in 1996 at the age of 70.