The Elephant Conspiracy
by Peter Hain
Muswell Press £14.99

MORNING STAR readers may be familiar with Peter Hain’s previous novel The Rhino Conspiracy. This sequel is equally if not more thrilling.

The author shares his love and expertise on the fight against apartheid both as a native South African, exiled as a child with his parents, and as chair of the Stop the Seventies Tour Committee. He continues to support the fight to overcome the apartheid legacy as honorary vice-president of Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA).  

As secretary of state for Northern Ireland in the Blair government he also had an intimate understanding of The Troubles and  fills this novel with realistic but exciting events firmly based in the current South African struggle against corruption and state capture.  

The story also touches upon issues outstanding in Northern Ireland since the signing of The Good Friday Agreement, something he helped to bring about.

The background to the narrative is provided by the terrible toll on elephants across Southern Africa as they, like the rhinos of Hain’s previous novel, are threatened with extinction at the hands of poachers, corrupt officials and international criminal cartels.  

Fiction and reality are intricately interwoven. Familiar characters include Thandi, the young hero working with “the veteran,” a thinly disguised Ronnie Kasrils, former head of intelligence of the ANC’s armed wing uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and campaigning British MP Bob Richards — clearly based on Peter Hain himself.

Key players from South Africa today can also be identified although many appear under unfamiliar names.  

Another character from The Rhino Conspiracy is “the Sniper,” previously a defender of game reserves against rhino poachers, who acquires an extraordinary new role.  

New faces also appear including “Komal,” recognisable as Kasrils’s fighting wife Amina by those who know her.

The story proceeds at an amazing pace combining the slaughter of elephants, corruption and international money-laundering in a dramatic mix. It continues with an incredible turn of events.

The story ends with a powerful reinforcement of the possibility of a better future for his beloved people of South Africa who have suffered so much under the yoke of colonialism, apartheid and their legacy of corruption. This hope I share with him.

The novel confirms Peter Hain’s reputation as a brilliant writer of fiction alongside his 20 other non-fiction books.  

I heartily recommend this book which within a dramatic tale successfully combines the exploration of the reality of today’s South Africa and outstanding issues for the island of Ireland.