Early life

Odile Harington was born in 1961 and lived in Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

. At the age of 23 Harington was an agent of South African military intelligence

Military intelligence

Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....

 and was sent to Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 to infiltrate the African National Congress

African National Congress

The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...

 and send back plans of the organizations' buildings in Harare

Harare

Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

.

Arrest and trial

Harington was arrested by police and interrogated by the Central Intelligence Organization

Central Intelligence Organization

The Central Intelligence Organisation is the national intelligence agency or "secret police" of Zimbabwe.-History:The CIO was formed in Rhodesia on the instructions of Prime Minister Winston Field in 1963 at the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and took over from the...

. At her trial before the Zimbabwe High Court in November 1987 Odile testified that she had been torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

d before February 1987 at a place called Daventry

Daventry

Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...

 House, while she was being held at Mabelreign police station in Harare, and after May 1987 at the CIO detention centre in Goromonzi

Goromonzi

Goromonzi is a rural community in Zimbabwe, southeast of the country's capital city of Harare. It covers an area of and has a population of 178,000. The people who live in the region are principally from the Shona tribe. The village serves as a trading centre for commercial, communal and...

. She described repeated sexual assault

Sexual assault

Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....

s, severe beatings, burnings with cigarettes and other humiliating treatment. She claimed that an ANC official and her superior had taken part in her torture. According to her testimony, the ANC official beat her on the soles of the feet with a hosepipe and half-drowned her by ducking her head repeatedly in a container of water. This evidence was not challenged in court. Chief Justice Dumbutshena cited her torture in mitigation when he reduced her sentence on appeal.

Odile was sentenced to 25 years in jail on November 27, 1987. On December 3, 1987, the South Africa Commissioner of Police said that Odile was not a spy and had not received any training or compensation.

Release and return to South Africa

Sources in Harare stated that she was handed to South African officials on November 1, 1990, and flown to South Africa within hours. Odile had spent about six and a half years in jail when released. Her release followed years of pressure by South African officials. The report stated that no confirmation of Odile's release could be obtained from Pretoria

Pretoria

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

 that Thursday night. The Pretoria News

Pretoria News

Pretoria News is a daily newspaper based in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa....

, however, did cover further reports confirming her release.

Clandestine Radio Watch cited a report from Clandestine Calling magazine in December 1990 linking the closure of Radio Truth to Odile's release.