Main content
This programme will be available shortly after broadcast

Arrested for 'immorality' in South Africa

In 1969 in South Africa, a mixed-race couple are arrested for 'conspiring to have sex'. The case of Dr Zureena Desai and Professor John Blacking made headlines around the world.

In 1969, a white man and an Indian woman were put on trial in South Africa for 'conspiring to have sex'. Dr Zureena Desai and Professor John Blacking were the most high-profile couple to be arrested under the Immorality Act. Their case made headlines all over the world and made a laughing stock of South Africa's ruling National Party and its racist regime. Dr Desai tells Vicky Farncombe about the ridiculous lengths police officers went to in order to gather evidence against the couple, including climbing trees and listening at ventilation shafts. 'Young people born after 1994 don't remember what South Africa was like,' she says. 'People died. And people were arrested for fatuous reasons.'

Release date:

9 minutes

On radio

Tomorrow 17:00GMT

Broadcast

  • Tomorrow 17:00GMT

Podcast