Quartus de Wet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2007) |
Dr. Quartus de Wet, South African judge-president of the Transvaal, was the son of Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet, Chief Justice of South Africa and acting Governor-General and Ella Scheepers (his first wife), who is reputed to have composed the popular Afrikaans song Sarie Marais during the Anglo-Boer War. He is famous for presiding over the 1963 Rivonia Trial of Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists.
During the Rivonia Trial, De Wet sentenced Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists to life imprisonment instead of a possible death sentence, for sabotage as a result of the trial.