why is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoriawhy is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoria

"We were right underneath an armed guard but he didnt see us. How does one who is an activist, not a locksmith even begin to fashion keys with no knowledge of the mechanisms? Locked up in a maximum-security jail for setting off harmless leaflet propaganda bombs spreading dissent against the apartheid regime in 1970s South Africa, Stephen and friend Tim Jenkin were about to embark on one of the most audacious prison breaks in history. 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He also participated in a local parkrun, a hobby which he said stemmed back from his days of running to keep fit in prison. [11] The wardens were all Afrikaans-speaking and were not fluent in English, and while most of the prisoners were fairly fluent in Afrikaans, they were not familiar with the topics they talked about. It was gut-wrenching the length of time we were given, Stephen recalled. We started just before the Soweto uprising in 1976 and carried on for three years. 'Escape from Pretoria' will . 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. They would contain simple messages, urging people to support the liberation movement. Moumbaris, unlike the two other men, was at Pretoria Prison since 1973. I started to carve a few little pieces of wood, one for the shaft and one for the bit of the key, Tim told National Geographic. I felt so elated. 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. But Tim Jenkin did, and you may be surprised to learn one of the most daring prison escapes was executed right under the noses of Pretoria Prison guards back in 1979 and involved nothing but the keys made in Jenkins own cell. After months of meticulous surveillance, breath-taking ingenuity, and in a race against time . But we got away with it.. For three years they set off harmless leaflet bombs - explosive devices at the bottom of a shopping bag that could distribute 500 propaganda pamphlets in one 'bang' - spreading word of the liberation movement in public places. We were working in a carpentry workshop and I thought, I wonder if we can make a key out of wood. There was an effort to rebuild the armed wing known as Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and a plan was hatched by Oliver Tambo, Joe Slovo and/or Moses Mabhida, with the help of the South African Communist Party[2] to land 25 combatants plus arms via a boat previously purchased by the ANC, the Adventurer (or Avventura[4]), on the Transkei coast via the Indian Ocean from Somalia. They both found their sociology course disappointing, as the material reinforced the status quo of apartheid. Door three fortunately worked with the same key as the inner cell door. Radcliffe is playing a real-life person, Tim Jenkin, in a thrilling story based on a true story. 3 views today. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. We walked out as if we had every right to be there. [20] 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. 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 2006 a dangerous inmate, Annanias Mathe (a serial rapist charged with 51 counts of murder), got out but was caught again two weeks later. Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa. While reminiscing about his childhood years, he suddenly remembered how he would pick locks back at home. Actor: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. On the third occasion a sea-landing of 19 MK fully-armed members was to occur, Moumbaris was the commander of the receiving group. He moved frequently around the country while growing up and went to school predominantly in . As clunkily deployed in the [] "You are the white Mandela," says a ham-faced warden, all but spitting in the face of anti-apartheid activist Tim Jenkin upon his arrival at Pretoria Local Prison in 1978. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Jenkin and Leejoined by fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbarisdecide to send the regime a clear message and escape. Then I went to Australia to the set and we would often sit together and hed ask me about particular scenes, what was going through my head while this was happening. Escape from Pretoria. They moved to London in 1961,[1] where Moumbaris worked for the IT department of Reuters-Comtel. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. It took them a year to get as far as door eleven, the final one. Stephen began to experiment with wooden keys the exact replicas used by prison guards during his compulsory shifts at the prison's wood workshop. [2], In March 1988, Moumbaris was at the side of ANC Chief Representative Dulcie September in 1988 when she was shot and killed outside the office in Paris. Here, Jenkin met his future wife Robin. Continue without accepting. A massive police operation was launched to recapture the convicts, but by that time Stephen and Tim were on their way out of South Africa, to safety in the UK. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. But of course if you continue doing something long enough, you will make mistakes. After the escape, the prison was refurbished to improve security. 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. I made that within a week or two of being there, it wasnt that difficult.. [5] As Marie-Jos was pregnant at the time and under pressure from the French ambassador, she was not charged but instead deported back to France[3] after four months. [13], Marie-Jos was repeatedly denied a visitor's visa to visit him in prison, and in February 1978 Moumbaris went on a hunger strike to try to force the authorities to let her in, but after 10 days realised the futility of this and gave up. Messages were typed into a computer, encrypted and saved to audio cassette, then sent from a public callbox to an answering machine. Escape From Pretoria follows the months-long construction of an escape plan formulated by South African apartheid activists Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee, and French national Leonard Fontaine (substituted for Egyptian-Australian activist Alex Moumbaris). 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 . The only languages allowed to be spoken during visits were the two "official" languages, English and Afrikaans, but as Boris only spoke French and was deemed too young to be a security risk, allowed them to converse in French. Goldberg distracted the warden while the three made their escape. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. Moumbaris was the only non-South African prisoner, and when Jenkin met him, he appeared as "a little aloof". Their arrest was part of a government sting to apprehend operatives from "the Moumbaris Adventurer Episode". At first the wooden key didnt turn the inner cell door lock. Moumbaris was charged under the Terrorism Act in January 1973. Unwilling to take any more risks, they had to leave this final barrier untested until the night of the actual escape. It was a little noise that promised a big prize freedom. Stephen and Tim, 64, whose story is told tonight in Breakout on the National Geographic Channel, were supporters of Nelson Mandelas ANC who had been put under surveillance by South Africas secret police for their clandestine activity. I wasnt wondering, oh will they make it?. So I wouldnt say its embellished at all, its quite accurate, he explains. [28], In 1987 his book, Escape from Pretoria, was published in London. ', Super Mario Bros. 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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. I made the first key in the first week. Director Francis Annan and his co-writer L.H . This was legal under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, which allowed detention without trial for up to 60 days, and was extendable. He lived and worked in UK and later moved to South Africa. A guard who found it assumed a colleague was to blame. [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. What 15 KB (566 words) - 03:39, 25 February 2021 Grant Piro Broadcasting Corporation. 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. [18], From there they were flown to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, accompanied by MK commander, Joe Modise. [33][34], In May 2017, it was announced that 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. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. Shooting on location in Adelaide, Australia a handsome but none-too-convincing stand-in for the South African highveld in exterior scenes DP Geoffrey Hall keeps the camera moves antsy but not fussy. Their fellow inmates told them theyd never make it. All of them imprisoned for underground work on behalf of the . Each night after lights went out, the trio sneaked out of their cells - once Tim had used the first key to unlock them all - to try and get through an extra door. 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. [1], Moumbaris was the only non-South African prisoner, and when Jenkin met him, he appeared as "a little aloof". and 1979 escape from, Pretoria Local Prison (within the Pretoria Central Prison complex) with Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee. He tells how Tim had been given a 12-year sentence and he had got eight years inside. Escape From Pretoria premiered on March 4, 2020. Jenkin, Lee, and fellow prisoner Alex Moumbaris were also involved in the escape. Straining to listen through the grill in his prison cell door, Stephen Lee heard the satisfying click of a key turning in a lock. He had been waiting for this sound for several hours every night for two months. As our central trio trace a taut treasure trail of keyholes and cupboards, Annans direction settles into a smooth groove of high-tension setpieces, teased out to breath-suspending effect. [2] However the boat had developed engine problems and had to return to Somalia. Select Your Cookie Preferences. With Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Webber, Ian Hart, Mark Leonard Winter. After that they made it to Mozambique, Angola, and then on to Europe. The initial plan was that eight of the political prisoners would escape, leaving behind two who were nearing the end of their sentences. He was visited in prison twice a year by his mother and young son, Boris, from France. We have a base load of around 70 [31][32] 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 third partner in the escape, Egyptian-born activist Alex Moumbaris, has been fictionalized as enigmatic Frenchman Leonard (Mark Leonard Winter), who has no discernible history or motivation at all, while two black allies in the plan are marginal presences at best. why is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoria. Fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbarisdecide to send the regime a message... Experiment with wooden keys the exact replicas used by prison guards during his compulsory shifts the. Based on a true story, why is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoria Hart, Mark Leonard Winter Soweto in! But he didnt see us underground work on behalf of the political prisoners would escape, the final one members... Daniel Webber, Ian Hart, Mark Leonard Winter to audio cassette, then sent from a callbox!, not a locksmith even begin to fashion keys with no knowledge of the political prisoners would,. 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