8/24/2023 0 Comments Escape from pretoria key![]() ![]() Jenkin worked as a researcher for the Institute for Social Development at the University of the Western Cape, a university for South Africans of mixed racial ancestry, or Coloureds. 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. After acceptance by the ANC, he and Lee received training from the ANC in various tactics, in particular how to spread their propaganda leaflets, and how to set up communication and financial structures. While awaiting clearance for membership, Jenkin worked as a social worker at a reform school in Swindon. In February 1974, Jenkin and Lee left the country in order to join the ANC in London, with the intention of helping to bring about change in South Africa. During this time they learnt of the activities of the African National Congress (ANC), which was an illegal organisation in South Africa. 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. They both found their sociology course disappointing, as the material reinforced the status quo of apartheid. They then photocopied it and swapped it with other students. They became friends and, in a South African version of Samizdat, Jenkins and Lee sought out literature banned by the ruling National Party. Jenkin met Stephen Lee in a sociology class at UCT. ![]() Īt 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. He later wrote that he had "grown up a 'normal' complacent white South African" who "unthinkingly accepted the system and for twenty-one years never questioned it". This led him to learning more about the injustice in his own country. He left for the UK in 1970, where, working in a fibreglass factory under poor working conditions and little pay, found the system unjust and developed an interest in sociology. Īfter 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. ![]() Jenkin was born in Cape Town and educated at Rondebosch Boys' Prep and Boys' High School, matriculating aged 17. 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.īiography Early life and education Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti- apartheid activist and political prisoner. It’s a real display of the actor’s talent.Community Exchange System (founder and director) Radcliffe is subdued but committed, lending an ideal everyman quality to Jenkin. It steadily builds its tension, culminating in a heart-pounding sequence in which Jenkin tries to rescue a key he dropped outside of his cell with nothing but a stick and a piece of gum. That cyclical process is what makes Escape from Pretoria tick. He’ll break himself out of his cell only to lock himself up again, waiting until he’s certain there’s a clear path out of the prison gates and on to freedom. The escape itself takes up a majority of the runtime, as Jenkin puts himself through a rigorous process of trial and error. Director Francis Annan, who co-wrote the script with LH Adams, is clearly entranced by the mechanics of it, crafting an intricate and studiously plotted film in return. Day by day, week by week, Jenkin carved his own set of keys out of wood scraps, all carefully hidden from view of the guards. His methods were meticulous – this wasn’t Steve McQueen and his motorcycle vaulting over barbed wire fences.
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