By Bob Newland
This book investigates events over 30 years old yet has tremendous relevance today when the struggle to overcome the legacy of apartheid continues. The title rightly identifies a plot to ‘save’ apartheid South Africa by provoking a race war which in the view of the plotters would bring an end to the negotiations between the De Klerk government and the ANC, bring down De Klerk, and re-establish the extreme right-wing supporters of apartheid in power in a reinvigorated apartheid state which they believed would last forever.
The setting for the story is Apartheid South Africa in 1993 with negotiations between the government and the ANC well underway but stalled in many respects. This created tensions on both sides but, according to the author, both needed each other in order to prevent massive bloodshed in a civil war which would be the most likely result of a breakdown in the talks.
A list of key ANC activists had been drawn up by Clive Derby-Lewis, a Conservative Party MP, his wife and those behind the plan. Derby-Lewis had supplied Janus Walus, a Polish immigrant with a stolen military pistol to use in assassinating those on the list. Others had supplied the addresses of the ANC leaders including Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo (former Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Commander in Chief and General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Chris Hani who had succeeded Slovo in both positions.
Justice Malala, a former news reporter on ‘The Star’ puts forward the argument that this was part of a widespread conspiracy, not the act of a couple of individuals as claimed by the perpetrators. His story is told through the eyes and words of a number of contemporaries to the events. His investigations are fascinating, and his writing draws you deeply into the emotions of the events following the assassination of Chris Hani, who was high on the list.
Chris was brutally shot down in front of his young daughter and the violence that followed in the 9 days before his funeral looked as if the plotters may have succeeded.
Hour by hour, day by day records of the unfolding events contribute to the tension. The ANC leadership, and Nelson Mandela in particular, called for peace but it appeared their calls were falling on deaf ears. De Klerk reverted to type and mobilised thousands of police and troops leading to clashes and many deaths and injuries particularly among the youth. Mandela was granted the opportunity to make his appeal in a television broadcast (the first ever permitted to him). Despite this violence was escalating.
There are many fascinating moments shared with the reader throughout the story, but these are for you to read yourselves. Of course, history tells us that the plotters failed. The murderers were sentenced to death by the apartheid courts, ironically to have the sentence commuted to life imprisonment following the election of an ANC led government in 1994 and the subsequent ending of the death penalty.
One moment I would like to share illustrates the many differences within the leadership of the ANC during and following the negotiations. The ANC Executive Committee met several times in the days before Hani’s funeral. At one meeting the differences of opinion regarding the response to the assassination and the massive demonstrations by the people came to the fore. Some ANC leaders believed that the security forces and De Klerk government were behind the assassinations and demanded the ANC withdraw from negations. Others suggested the ANC should call off the mass protests and demonstrations by their supporters. Mandela argued the demonstrations were warranted and that these should be permitted to go ahead but that the ANC should call for restraint. He argued that it would be the view of Chris Hani that the ANC should remain in talks. At a critical moment in the debate Ronnie Kasrils intervened. Kasrils was a close friend of Hani and had worked closely with him as MK Head of Intelligence. Kasrils explained that demonstrations and popular protests were not a tap that could simply turned on and off. He supported Mandela arguing that the protests should continue, and the energies be channelled into supporting forceful new demands from the ANC, in particular to demand that a date be fixed for elections and shared oversight of the police and armed forces.
This position won the day and Mandela demanded that the government withdraw its forces to a very minimum to avoid provocations and bloodshed. This they did and Hani’s funeral largely went off without bloodshed. Within a short period of time, the election date was announced. The right-wing coup attempt had been defeated, the ANC won the election and the rest as they say is history.
As is well recorded, neither Walus or Derby-Lewis have admitted to the wider conspiracy or indicated that any others were involved with them. It is for readers to decide for themselves whether Malala has made his case. Whatever conclusion you come to one thing is sure, this is a brilliant, exciting and informative history book which not only investigates this crime which robbed the people of South Africa and the world of a brilliant and principled leader, but shares many little-known details of this final phase of the struggle against apartheid. It is well worth a read.
The Plot to Save South Africa: Justice Malala. Published by Simon and Schuster UK Ltd. £12.99
Bob Newland is a Liberation member and was a London Recruit
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