Early life and activism Lee was born in South Africa. After developing an interest in
Marxism and involving himself in
left-leaning student politics at the
University of Cape Town and subsequently switching courses from
business science to
sociology in 1971, he met Jenkin in a sociology class. They soon became friends and both of them sought out the literature banned by the
apartheid government, devouring,
photocopying it and swapping it with other students. They both found their sociology course disappointing, as the material reinforced the status quo of the apartheid system. As they started realising the full extent of the unfair system of apartheid, they were fired with a desire to work towards change. Coming to the conclusion they could not effect any real change within the constitutional framework, which banned all effective and truly democratic opposition, they decided the ideals of the
African National Congress (ANC) were worth fighting for. The only way they could work for this banned organisation was to move to the UK and make contact with the organisation there, so both set off in February 1974 by ship via
Barcelona, spending a few weeks in the
Netherlands en route. Upon arrival in
London in April 1974, they applied to join the ANC. While the ANC were checking their credentials, Lee went and worked as a carpenter in the Netherlands and taught
English in
Spain. At the end of 1974, the ANC informed him they had been approved and, after receiving some months of training with them, could return to South Africa to do something for the movement. During this time Lee worked as a
bus conductor and joined the
Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Lee worked for the
University of the Witwatersrand, while Jenkin ran the "
cell" on his own in Cape Town. Not long after the
Soweto uprising, Lee planted a number of leaflet bombs around Johannesburg. In December 1976, Lee went to Cape Town and both he and Jenkin planted leaflet bombs in the city and suburbs. In Jenkin's words, "The actual message on the leaflets, important as it was, was not as important as the fact the ANC had done it. It is because of the propaganda effect...". In June 1977 Lee distributed several caches of leaflets at a
right-wing sociology conference in Johannesburg. In September, he and Jenkin hung a 10-metre-long banner with the words "ANC LIVES" from a high building in the centre of Cape Town, along with a timed device which distributed hundreds of leaflets over the crowds below. 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 police.
Arrest At 3am on 2 March 1978, they were both arrested, after being seen moving their printing equipment into their own dwelling. They were separated, interrogated and put into cells, without being informed of the charges or their rights. This was legal under Section 6 of the
Terrorism Act, which allowed detention without trial for up to 60 days, and was extendable. Lee made an escape attempt and nearly succeeded. After a spell in the notorious
John Vorster Square in Johannesburg, they were returned to Cape Town and after four weeks, allowed to see family, and held at
Pollsmoor Prison as they awaited trial. After Lee's father brought him a copy of the book
Papillon, the book inspired them to seriously consider the prospect of escape and they concentrated on rigorous observations of the world around them.
Trial Along with Jenkin, Lee was tried in the Cape Town Supreme Court from 6 to 15 June 1978, charged with helping to produce and distribute pamphlets for the ANC and
South African Communist Party (SACP), and/or participating in ANC, SACP and
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) (all banned organisations in
apartheid South Africa) activities. They received poor legal advice and were not allowed to make their own pleas in answer to the charges. Lee's family had insisted on using a different defence lawyer, and he and his witnesses – parents, a
Roman Catholic chaplain and a family friend – used the line Jenkin was the ringleader and Lee had been corrupted. Lee was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment and Jenkin to twelve.
Prison They were first taken to
Pretoria Central Prison for assessment, where they were assigned to Pretoria Local Prison (aka Pretoria Prison) to serve out their sentences. This was a separate prison, one of three along with Pretoria Central proper and "Maximum" or "Beverly Hills" which were part of the complex - although all three were often referred to mistakenly as Pretoria Central. Within this prison, they were assigned to the maximum security part reserved for white male political prisoners, making the number up to 11 at that time. From the first day, they were observing their surroundings and weighing up the chances of an escape.
Escape Lee, Jenkin and
Alex Moumbaris escaped from Pretoria Prison in 1979, Although Jenkin and Moumbaris contributed most towards the preparations for and material necessities of the plan, Lee was firmly behind their thinking and assisted in whatever ways he could. After escaping, Lee separated for some weeks from the others, staying with friends in Johannesburg before meeting up with them again at
Luanda airport to fly out of
Angola. After flying to
Tanzania, Lee flew on to
London on 13 January 1980, having renounced his South African citizenship soon after arrival in Pretoria. In May 1980 the warden who had been on duty of the night of the escape, Sergeant Vermeulen, was put on trial for "aiding terrorists", or alternatively aiding in the escape of three prisoners. Lee, having first written to a newspaper explaining Vermeulen's innocence, upon request sent a sworn statement to his defence attorney stating Vermeulen's innocence. The combination of this and the many inconsistencies in his forced "confession" led to his eventual acquittal. Lee and Jenkin went on a speaking tour in
Sweden in the early 1980s. ==In TV and film==