Chris Searle speaks to bassist PAUL ROGERS
A Pretoria Boy - The Story of South Africa’s “Public Enemy Number One”
by Peter Hain
Icon Books £20
MY relationship with Peter began in our shared struggle against apartheid. It continues in Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA), the successor to the Anti-Apartheid Movement of which he is Honorary Vice-President.
Hain’s latest biography begins with his childhood introduction to the methods of the Apartheid Special Branch as they pursued his activist parents. He describes his emotions at their imprisonment; among the first detainees without trial under the 12-day detention laws.
Peter’s parents were members of the Liberal Party and a friend, John Harris, joined the “Liberal” Armed Resistance Movement which bombed Johannesburg Central Station. Harris was sentenced to death and shortly after his execution in 1964 the Hains left South Africa for the UK.
ROGER MCKENZIE recalls the one-in-a-generation communist leader murdered at the dawn of a new South Africa 33 years ago last April 10
ROGER McKENZIE looks at how ancient traditions practiced today can be the cornerstone of anti-imperialism in Africa
SALEEM BADAT and VASU REDDY introduce a new book about an outstanding interpreter of the world, and an activist scholar committed to changing society
RONNIE KASRILS pays tribute to Ruth First, a fearless fighter against South African apartheid, in the centenary month of her birth


