The Plot to Save South Africa
The Week Mandela Averted Civil War and Forged a New Nation
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
‘Superbly reported, compelling . . . wonderfully captures the spirit of that time’ Financial Times
'Gripping and important' Observer
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Nine days that set the course of a nation...
Johannesburg, Easter weekend, 1993. Nelson Mandela has been free for three years and is in slow-moving power-sharing talks with President FW de Klerk when a white supremacist shoots Mandela’s popular young heir apparent, Chris Hani, in the hope of igniting an all-out civil war. Will he succeed in plunging South Africa into chaos, safeguarding apartheid for perhaps years to come? Or can Mandela and de Klerk overcome their differences and mutual suspicion and calm their followers, plotting a way forward?
In The Plot to Save South Africa, acclaimed South African journalist Justice Malala recounts the riveting story of the next nine days – never before told in full – revealing rarely seen sides of both Mandela and de Klerk, the fascinating behind-the-scenes debates within each of their parties over whether to pursue peace or war, and their increasingly desperate attempts to restrain their supporters despite mounting popular frustrations.
Flitting between the points of view of over a dozen characters on all sides of the conflict, Justice Malala offers an illuminating look at successful leadership in action… and a terrifying reminder of just how close a country we think of today as a model for racial reconciliation came to civil war.
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‘A dramatic work of history, prodigiously reported and beautifully crafted. Justice Malala is a first-rate storyteller, deftly weaving history with a narrative that reads like a novel. I couldn’t put it down’ Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Ali: A Life
‘Magnificent, furious and unputdownable’ Andrew Harding, BBC Africa correspondent and author of These Are Not Gentle People
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
On Apr. 10, 1993, a white supremacist assassinated African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela's protégé, Chris Hani, intending to "ignite a race war that would put a stop to all attempts to end apartheid in South Africa." In this gripping account of the killing and its aftermath, journalist Malala (We Have Now Begun Our Descent) documents how Mandela and South African president F.W. de Klerk worked together to prevent the country from descending into chaos and rein in the most extreme factions of their respective constituencies, including de Klerk's hawkish Minister of Law and Order, Hernus Kriel, and Mandela's fiery confidant Bantu Holomisa, military leader of the Transkei homeland. Interspersing the narrative with snippets of South African history, Malala covers the unrest from the perspectives of ANC leaders, government ministers, far-right agitators, grieving citizens, and those who kept the channel of communication between Mandela and de Klerk open. Despite Mandela's anger at de Klerk's failure to acknowledge his government's past role in covert assassinations, he kept his focus on securing the free and fair elections that would ultimately lead to majority rule in South Africa. Doggedly researched and immersively told, this is a fascinating study of a nation on the brink.
