peoplepill id: alex-moumbaris. I felt so elated.". [7], Jenkin and Lee appeared at a press conference in Lusaka with Oliver Tambo on 2 January 1980 to tell their stories,[25] before moving to London, where Jenkin worked as a research officer for the International Defence and Aid Fund. He worked for the ANC Elections Briefing Unit from 1994 (the year of the first fully democratic elections in South Africa), before being appointed head of their Electronic Information Unit in Cape Town later that year. He was born in Egypt to Greek parents, grew up in Australia, lived and worked in the UK, was imprisoned in South Africa and now lives in France. 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. As such, they were brought to the attention of South Africa's secret police. In my early years I had learned to pick the back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he explained. 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Jordan Meets Reporter at 'Creed III' Premiere Who 'Teased Him all the Time' in High School: 'I Was the Corny Kid, Right? [18], From there they were flown to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, accompanied by MK commander, Joe Modise. The fact that they were all in prison for their political activities and beliefs united them, and "as members of a revolutionary organisation [they] were disciplined and shared in [their] suffering collectively". We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 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. There were numerous gates, many metal grill doors. I wanted to go back and do it again, as we hadnt opened that door before., He says: We escaped it a number of times in fact, each time going a bit further, the actual [final] escape was the easy part.. 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. [10], Upon return to Cape Town in July 1975, Lee and Jenkin bought a typewriter, duplicator and stationery to print and post pamphlets and leased first a garage and then a tiny apartment. When youre making it the lock is right there, you keep filing it until it fits in the holes. In an area called "The Pot", therewas a legendary gallows where seven could be hung at once. When the night came, Denis Goldberg, a political prisoner who would serve 22 years, distracted the guards. [9] When an escape committee of three prisoners was set up, Moumbaris (and not Jenkin or Lee) was selected as he was "the most vociferous" and a good negotiator. ', Super Mario Bros. 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In the 1990s he and others created an association dedicated to the memory of Joseph Stalin, later dissolved but re-formed, for his role in creating socialism, with free health and education. In fact, things have been kept so by the book, so to speak, the actors used the actual tool Jenkin and Lee as well as third prisoner Alex Moumbaris employed in their daring 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. and 1979 escape from, Pretoria Local Prison (within the Pretoria Central Prison complex) with Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee. Luckily, the warder blamed one of his colleagues. But we got away with it. Ze worden op heterdaad betrapt en veroordeeld tot een jarenlange gevangenisstraf in Pretoria Central Prison. They would contain simple messages, urging people to support the liberation movement. Adams workaday screenplay, the actors signature anxious-earnest mien is leaned on a lot here, as is his overly explanatory voiceover, which provides a broad primer on apartheid for any uninformed viewers, along with a reminder that freedom and equality should be fought for at all costs.. It was a victory over the system., Escape From Pretoria is released in UK cinemas on Friday, March 6, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. The moment we heard the knocking on the door, we knew that was it, Tim told The Times. As he says, for me its just like going to the movies. . Here, Jenkin met his future wife Robin. But fortunately the metal of the keyhole marked where it was getting jammed, meaning Tim could accurately file it down to size. But near doors five and six was the night warders office. How does one who is an activist, not a locksmith even begin to fashion keys with no knowledge of the mechanisms? He escaped with fellow activists Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris. The wooden key didnt work at first. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison (part of the Pretoria Central Prison complex), along with Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris. In June 1978, Stephen Lee and Tim Jenkin were sentenced to eight to 12 years in prison for producing political pamphlets during the Apartheid. They were very big locks so you could see the marks on the inside. [7] A new edition was published in Johannesburg and London as Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison in 2003. Tim and Stephen were hauled off to a special "European" section called "The Local" for white inmates which housed up to 22. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. The ol razzle dazzle where his journey looks nothing like how it has been portrayed on screen, In a way the real story is even more exciting, its just too long to fit into the 100 minutes, so theyve taken license to summaries a whole lot of events into one. As the former prison inmate told The Daily Mail, this memory was to transform his life, and soon enough, he had begun to test out various plans that could help him and Tim get out of the horrid institution. Once the plan is set in motion, the film itself feels unlocked: As a re-eenacted chapter of anti-apartheid history, Escape from Pretoria may not feel entirely authentic, but it knows its prison-movie terrain, from Alcatraz to Shawshank, inside out. [21], Along with Lee, Jenkin was charged with "producing and distributing 18 different pamphlets on behalf of banned organisations" including the South African Communist Party, the ANC and its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, from 1975 to 1978, and urging people to join the liberation movement. They caught us with printing equipment. View our online Press Pack. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison (part of the Pretoria Central Prison complex), along with Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris. At night there were dogs in the yard.. Adapted from Jenkin's memoir of his time served and resourcefully cut short as a South African political prisoner in the country's darkest . It was dangerous, they did have regular inspections. But of course if you continue doing something long enough, you will make mistakes. He returned to France after his escape. [39], Harry Potter of Jailbreaking: Tim Jenkin on Freedom, first fully democratic elections in South Africa, "Talking to Vula: The Story of the Secret Underground Communications Network of Operation Vula", "Press Conference by O. R. Tambo, Introducing Alexandre Moumbaris, Stephen Lee and Timothy Jenkin who Escaped from Prison in South Africa", "Should communities be able to design their own currencies? "I wanted to run but we just kept walking to the railway station, where we used our money to get in a taxi," Stephen said. [21], In May 2011, Moumbaris was charged with making a "Public call to discrimination" and set to appear in court in Flers, in Normandy. The arrests at Liliesleaf and convictions which followed at the Rivonia Trial in 1963-4 were followed by widespread roundups of activists and leaders, including Bram Fischer and Wilton Mkwayi. SLOUCHED on his bed in the small, dingy cell of the notorious jail where he was destined to spend the next 12 years, Tim Jenkin had a flash of inspiration. In my early years I had learned to pick the back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he says. He's best known as the anti-apartheid activist who. [7] Goldberg distracted the warden while the three made their escape. Sketchy as it is on human details, Escape from Pretoria gets by on such practical nuts and bolts. I got a piece of paper and, using a knife, pressed it into the lock. However, escaping - something no inmate had successfully done before - was going to be no easy task. It couldnt be reached by his cell, so he had to gradually fit that second key to size doing stints cleaning the corridor during prisoners' chore times. [20], In Paris, Moumbaris organised the opening of the ANC office in 1981[21] and continued to assist the struggle against apartheid in various ways, including recruiting comrades for missions in South Africa for MK. [4] With bills to pay, he took a job as computer specialist with a subsidiary of the Socit Gnrale and became a shop steward for the Confdration Gnrale du Travail (CGT). [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. We use cookies and similar tools that are . [9] His ongoing task of generating enthusiasm amongst the other inmates for the escape plan was onerous, and the stress affected his health. Given the limited backstory filled in by Annan and L.H. skuggans caf lngtora. On 30 December they were flown to Zambia, where they were accommodated under armed guard in Lusaka and their presence was officially announced by the ANC in early January 1980. Moumbaris's family migrated to Australia when he was young and he became a naturalised Australian citizen,[1] but he left for France when he was 16 years old. Stephen and Tim had to open 11 doors in total, some right next to the guards' office. Escape from Pretoria. [6], In June 1973, Moumbaris was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring with the ANC to "instigate violent revolution in South Africa', aiding guerrillas to enter the country, distributing ANC literature and reconnoitering the coast to find places for the sea-borne landing of guerrillas and arms. We have a base load of around 70 Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. Its surprising that its taken this long to reach the screen, given how sveltely his gripping story fits into a genre-film uniform. We walked out as if we had every right to be there.". The worst time was being put in solitary confinement., Describing the prison, he says: There were numerous gates, many metal grill doors. He worked as a trade unionist and came to South Africa in 1973. For Jenkin, that cost is a 12-year prison sentence, handed down after he and his best friend Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber, tersely charismatic in a thin part) were caught planting a leaflet bomb to distribute ANC protest flyers in central Cape Town. The trial in the Cape Town Supreme Court went from 6 to 15 June 1978. They had to leave it untested until the actual night of their escape, December 11, 1979 - 18 months after their conviction. 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