BROADCASTS.com

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.

\u201cYoung people born after 1994 don't remember what South Africa was like,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople died. And people were arrested for fatuous reasons.\u201d

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the \u2018Indian Titanic\u2019 and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy\u2019s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and G\xf6rel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they\u2019ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America\u2019s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Dr Zureena Desai. Credit: Abrie Jantjies)