Why was Nelson Mandela sent to jail?
Nelson Mandela was arrested and jailed because he was accused of treason by the South African government. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC), which challenged the South African ruling party’s apartheid policies. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961. Mandela formed the military wing of the ANC, the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which went underground after the ANC was banned in 1960. He was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour. When many leaders of the ANC and the MK were arrested for plotting to overthrow the government by violence, Nelson Mandela was also brought to stand trial with them, and he was one of eight accused that were sentenced to life imprisonment.
