It took until the next day for guards to realise they were missing, and a huge police operation to recapture them was launched. [24], In May 2017, it was announced 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 was a wonderful feeling.. For other inquiries, Contact Us. 1978 United Nations High Commission for Refugees, "Press Conference by O. R. Tambo, Introducing Alexandre Moumbaris, Stephen Lee and Timothy Jenkin who Escaped from Prison in South Africa", "Ambassador Molekane receives stalwart of the apartheid struggle Alex Moumbaris at the SA Embassy", "Media Statement by the Chancellor of the National Orders and Director-General in the Presidency, Dr. Cassius Lubisi, at the Union Buildings, Pretoria", "Daniel Radcliffe to Star in Prison-Break Drama 'Escape From Pretoria', "Sam Neill joins Daniel Radcliffe in 'Escape From Pretoria', "Adelaide transformed into apartheid-era Cape Town for Escape From Pretoria filming", "Daniel Radcliffe touches down in Adelaide for new movie", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alex_Moumbaris&oldid=1101678249, All Wikipedia articles written in South African English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from July 2017, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 August 2022, at 07:50. Australian actor and former elite cyclist Nathan Page, best known internationally for his nuanced portrayal of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012), was born into an air force family in Perth on 25 August 1971. [12], Moumbaris, although enrolled in university courses, did not undertake formal studies at all while in prison; it was a cover so extra books could be obtained from the university library for everyone to make use of; it was a way of keeping themselves informed about the world. There was enough explosive inside to lift about 500 pamphlets into the air. [6], At the end of 1970 Jenkin enrolled at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science degree at the end of 1973. Moumbaris and Jenkin, by a variety of means, travelled overland to Swaziland and went to United Nations High Commission for Refugees, who were sympathetic to their plight and took them to an ANC representative. I felt so elated. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. [28], In 1987 his book, Escape from Pretoria, was published in London. I knew it was curtains for us. People said how can you make keys out of wood, they wouldnt be strong enough, but when we broke them up it was quite a mission, we had to use the chisel.. [2], He and Jenkin carried out a first trial run of the escape plan, and were involved in a couple of scrapes which nearly led to discovery in the lead-up to the escape. 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 . My heart was racing. Using the broom he was allowed to keep to sweep his cell, he created another genius contraption. Others were also caught, but they succeeded in infiltrating a number of trained militants. Success came after many long nights of painstaking effort and risk. [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). We worked quite closely and he wanted to know what to emphasise, he was very keen to portray the mood and, well, me, I guess, as accurately as he could.. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Instead, 25 guerillas were infiltrated overland, with Moumbaris aiding with border reconnaissance and transport,[5] as commander of the receiving operation. He escaped with fellow activists Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris. 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. 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. Escape from Pretoria: Directed by Francis Annan. I took the file that I brought, and I had the lock in front of me so I could keep testing it, he explained of the agonisingly slow process. But fortunately the metal of the keyhole marked where it was getting jammed, meaning Tim could accurately file it down to size. This one actually has its roots in a real-life story, as it'll be based on Tim Jenkin's autobiography Inside Out: Escape From Pretoria Prison. I was so worried it was making a tremendous noise. Imposing: Pretoria Prison Speaking from his home in North London, dad-of-two Stephen, now 62, says they had been determined to escape from the moment they arrived at notorious Pretoria. There he met and married a French woman, Marie-Jos. When youre making it the lock is right there, you keep filing it until it fits in the holes. Jenkin and Lee - joined by fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbaris - decide to send the regime a clear message and escape. Distractify is a registered trademark. At first the wooden key didnt turn the inner cell door lock. Two years later, Marie-Jos gave birth to a daughter, Zo, who was born on 11 December 1981, the second anniversary of the escape. All Rights Reserved. Characterization takes a distant back seat to the ingenious practicalities of the mission itself. On the 11 December 1979 Alex Moumbaris and two other prisoners, Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, made a daring escape from Pretoria Central Prison. 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. "Im glad that we escaped. 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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? This led him to learning more about the injustice in his own country. But near doors five and six was the night warders office. He returned to France after his escape. Tim's door was just the beginning. Once the key was ready to go, they had to work out how to get the door open without the guards noticing. [4], After leaving school, he avoided conscription into the South African Defence Force, and worked at a variety of jobs for two years, with no particular interest in anything except motorcycle racing. "Just in case, we had brought a chisel. It took them a year to get as far as door eleven, the final one. Stephen and Tim began devising ways to break out as soon as they arrived. He had big plans to shoot Escape from Pretoria in South Africa a couple of years ago, but the money fell through. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. While their revolutionary deeds helped to change the course of history, their prison escape was that which garnered them real fame. lindbacken fastigheter Through reading material banned by the government, they came to see the "naked reality" of apartheid and the undemocratic behavior of the ruling party, and felt a burning desire to effect positive change, which, Jenkin concluded, was only possible using unconstitutional means under the current regime. Sneaking out of their cells at night, they soon managed to get through door four. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. [14], Moumbaris was allowed to see the French envoy from time to time, who would assure him he was doing everything within his power to secure his release and persuade the authorities to let Marie-Jos visit him. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. So it is a very strange sort of thing., Jenkin continues: It is very exciting [to watch] but I knew the outcome. In order to successfully escape from the prison in December 1979, Jenkin unlocked nine doors while Goldberg diverted the warden. He is known for his political activism against the apartheid. The key, fortunately, also worked for the door of Stephen's neighbouring cell. 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. View our online Press Pack. Written and directed by Francis Annan, the historical thriller sheds light on how Stephen and Tim managed to defy all expectations and escape from the Pretoria Central Prison. Tim, the technical expert of the pair, had devised a way of scattering banned leaflets by using explosive linked to a timer and detonator inside a carrier bag. El primer adelanto de este dramtico filme nos da un vistazo a la difcil situacin por la que pas para intentar sobrevivir. This was legal under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, which allowed detention without trial for up to 60 days, and was extendable. The layout of the prison cell Tim escaped fromAfter making most of the key in his first week, Tim also needed to smuggle it back to his cell. 3 views today. But he needed to create another one to make it into the next part of the prison. After the escape, the prison was refurbished to improve security. Alex Moumbaris was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on the 20 June 1973, which he started serving in the Pretoria Local Prison. "Im glad I played the part I did," he said. Director Francis Annan and his co-writer L.H . and 1979 escape from, Pretoria Local Prison (within the Pretoria Central Prison complex) with Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee. It's not intended as a . After hundreds of days of looking at the keys, he commits their shape to memory and successfully makes replicas for all nineteen doors that lead to the main gate of the prison. Alexandre Moumbaris is a political activist and former political prisoner. But, as Tim noted, they were escaping from an imprisonment they never deserved. Believe it or not, the chisel they used in the film [to beat down the door], was the actual chisel we used on the front door.. We got through the nine doors and then at the final door, we found we couldnt open the lock. "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. Copyright 2023 Distractify. How? Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. why is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoria. 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