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Hani: A Life too Short
Chris Hani’s assassination in 1993 gave rise to one of South Africa’s great imponderables: if he had survived, what impact would he have had on politics and government in South Africa? More pointedly, could this charismatic leader have risen to become president of the country?
Hani was a hero of South Africa’s liberation, a communist party leader and Umkhonto we Sizwe chief of staff who was both intellectual and fighter, a man who could inspire an army but carried a book of poetry in his backpack. Hani led MK into its earliest battles, and carved a formidable reputation as a thinker, debater and peacemaker.
Hani: A Life Too Short tells the story of Hani’s life, from his childhood in rural Transkei and education at Fort Hare University to the controversial Memorandum of 1969, the crisis in the ANC camps in Angola in the 1980s and the heady dawn of freedom. Drawing on interviews and the recollections of those who knew him, this vividly written book provides a detailed account of the life of a great South African.
Janet Smith is an executive editor of The Star and a special writer at Independent Newspapers, concentrating on socio-political stories, essays and profiles. She is the author of two award-winning novels for young South Africans and the co-author of a third prize-winning book for teenagers. A mother of three, she lives in Kensington, Johannesburg.
Beauregard Tromp is a senior reporter at The Star newspaper in Johannesburg. He was awarded the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Journalist of the Year in 2009 for his coverage of the xenophobic violence in Johannesburg in 2008. He is a previous Africa Correspondent and has travelled extensively throughout the continent covering the events which have helped shape Africa in the past decade.
Hani was a hero of South Africa’s liberation, a communist party leader and Umkhonto we Sizwe chief of staff who was both intellectual and fighter, a man who could inspire an army but carried a book of poetry in his backpack. Hani led MK into its earliest battles, and carved a formidable reputation as a thinker, debater and peacemaker.
Hani: A Life Too Short tells the story of Hani’s life, from his childhood in rural Transkei and education at Fort Hare University to the controversial Memorandum of 1969, the crisis in the ANC camps in Angola in the 1980s and the heady dawn of freedom. Drawing on interviews and the recollections of those who knew him, this vividly written book provides a detailed account of the life of a great South African.
Janet Smith is an executive editor of The Star and a special writer at Independent Newspapers, concentrating on socio-political stories, essays and profiles. She is the author of two award-winning novels for young South Africans and the co-author of a third prize-winning book for teenagers. A mother of three, she lives in Kensington, Johannesburg.
Beauregard Tromp is a senior reporter at The Star newspaper in Johannesburg. He was awarded the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Journalist of the Year in 2009 for his coverage of the xenophobic violence in Johannesburg in 2008. He is a previous Africa Correspondent and has travelled extensively throughout the continent covering the events which have helped shape Africa in the past decade.
338 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 27, 2012
Whenever I take time to read a book about the personalities (living or deceased) that mark South Africa's recent history of the liberation struggle, I am often in search of a number of things among which are hopefully
(a) a deeper insight into who these people were [along with everything they believed in]
(b) a deeper understanding of the environment and situations that gave rise to their decisions and actions
(c) a verification of own prior understanding/knowledge of events pertaining to the characters gained through, in some instances; chance encounters and interaction.
It was not different when in only two days - the other being Christmas Day (oops) - I immersed myself in Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp's account of who Thembisile, Martin, Chris, Hani really was - a key character in South Africa's recent liberation struggle, viewed by many still as having been one of the greatest contributors, and one I had a fleeting opportunity to meet and interact with, however briefly; in the build up to the country's first all inclusive democratic elections in 1994.
Smith and Tromp's tale of 'Hani: A Life Too Short' is captivating without fail reflective perhaps, of the great lengths to which they evidently went to investigate their subject but also the seeming impartial approach they took in both researching and narrating the story.
Impartiality is a great ingredient in story telling within the South African context currently, a country whose people are still grappling with self identity and with that, a vision of who they'd like to be as a single nation.
The book does justice in presenting Chris as no more than a mere human being, albeit, an intelligent one; who got deeply involved in liberation politics and related activities in his youth moved by the common cause of black people in South Africa in the last 400 years; racial oppression characterized by deliberate deprivation of the most basic of human necessities by two white regimes; first the European (British) colonialists and thereafter, the separatist Afrikaners of Dutch descent.
It reflects on a Chris Hani who completely devoted his entire life to pursuing a commitment to see his people freed from bondage and ultimately living normal lives in their country and with that, becoming significant contributors to the rest of the world's development.
It depicts a Chris Hani character to whom theory, all theory was important and relevant only to the extent that it furthered the cause of liberation of his people. As a result, Chris Hani emerges from the book as being equally one of the staunch black South African communists of the era, as he was one of the most devout Christians to have ever lived during his lifetime.
It brings to life a Christ Hani whose daring determination to achieve his goal sometimes even pitted him head on against his own in the African National Congress/South African Communist Party to a point of nearly losing his life once as a consequence thereof, a gentle, thoughtful, highly active yet forceful character whose every action elicited critical response from peers high up, or lower down during his lifetime of 50 plus one year.
In this, the 'hero' character still idolized by many formerly oppressed South Africans especially black; finds both form and justification particularly given that Chris Hani never lived long enough to see his goal achieved after being slain by a lone assassin - a political rightwing young white male - while peace negotiations were taking place which would eventually lead to all South Africans participation equally in the country's governance and socio economic life.
But, the book does not fully reflect on Chris Hani's life as otherwise would be the case, had another critical voice, still alive - his widow Limpho, agreed to share her own experience and insights on her husband. Why she apparently refused to do so is not clear, but definitely leaves a huge if significant gap in the creation of a collective memory of Chris.
Indeed, the absence of Hani's wife's input in the book also reflects on another fascinating side of Chris Hani's personal life and which seems full with all sorts mishaps, some out of poor judgement and others seemingly circumstantial.
A set of glaring weaknesses in the management of his personal life, especially with regards the very few women in his life, from early on in his life depicts a Chris Hani who, despite his high intellect and seemingly strong moral disposition, was equally vulnerable and careless enough at times to badly compromise his "mesianic" image.
In fact, in this regard; Chris Hani shares a lot in common with some of those with whom he actively fought the struggle for liberation. There are far too many instances where personal lives were sacrificed carelessly 'for the struggle' with entire families in some cases effectively abandoned. It is academic whether or not such personal sacrifices could have been done in any other way decent and morally just under relevant prevailing circumstances and conditions.
However, finally; Smith and Tromp's record of Hani lays bare (to the extent possible) the true nature (highs and lows) of the ANC liberation struggle prior to and during the exile years, including its relationship with the SACP of which Chris rose to lead shortly before his expiry on Easter Weekend 1993.
There are those who think that had Chris Hani not died, he would have already become the country's president, and among these are those that think that in fact, had he risen to leadership of the country after Nelson Mandela, the country would have taken a slightly if not totally different path to that towards which it has been led by two of his contemporaries and comrades, Thabo Mbeki (1999-2007) and Jacob Zuma (2009-present).
It is only speculation that leads to fantasy and nothing more.
Personally, even prior to reading the book, I had great admiration for Chris Hani especially for the stories of his bravery as an Umkhonto Wesizwe commander and with that his personal and legendary heroics as an MK soldier cutting bush and man through Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively) in the late 60s only to end up in jail at Seretse Khama's Botswana jail compounds. I'd also heard or read of his daring challenges of ANC authorities during the exile years and which at times earned him the full wrath of the organisation - "The Manifesto" being one of this instances.
It mattered not that he was or called himself a "communist" nor the fact that some referred to him and would have the rest of us believe that he was a "terrorist."
It's admiration for Chris Hani that found comfort especially after meeting him, interviewing him at least three or four times on radio and covering some of his political mobilization rallies in the Transkei and some parts of the Eastern Cape during the return of exiles following the unbanning of liberation struggle political organizations in 1990.
For any black South African who (like me) had never been in exile or jailed in Robben Island for political activism; Umtata (the capital of then 'independent' Transkei homeland) was THE PLACE to be in those early days of the "new South Africa" and I just happened to have the honor.
The book is a must have for those like me, who seek still to make sense of a whole range of issues concerning the rebuilding of the South African nation.
(a) a deeper insight into who these people were [along with everything they believed in]
(b) a deeper understanding of the environment and situations that gave rise to their decisions and actions
(c) a verification of own prior understanding/knowledge of events pertaining to the characters gained through, in some instances; chance encounters and interaction.
It was not different when in only two days - the other being Christmas Day (oops) - I immersed myself in Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp's account of who Thembisile, Martin, Chris, Hani really was - a key character in South Africa's recent liberation struggle, viewed by many still as having been one of the greatest contributors, and one I had a fleeting opportunity to meet and interact with, however briefly; in the build up to the country's first all inclusive democratic elections in 1994.
Smith and Tromp's tale of 'Hani: A Life Too Short' is captivating without fail reflective perhaps, of the great lengths to which they evidently went to investigate their subject but also the seeming impartial approach they took in both researching and narrating the story.
Impartiality is a great ingredient in story telling within the South African context currently, a country whose people are still grappling with self identity and with that, a vision of who they'd like to be as a single nation.
The book does justice in presenting Chris as no more than a mere human being, albeit, an intelligent one; who got deeply involved in liberation politics and related activities in his youth moved by the common cause of black people in South Africa in the last 400 years; racial oppression characterized by deliberate deprivation of the most basic of human necessities by two white regimes; first the European (British) colonialists and thereafter, the separatist Afrikaners of Dutch descent.
It reflects on a Chris Hani who completely devoted his entire life to pursuing a commitment to see his people freed from bondage and ultimately living normal lives in their country and with that, becoming significant contributors to the rest of the world's development.
It depicts a Chris Hani character to whom theory, all theory was important and relevant only to the extent that it furthered the cause of liberation of his people. As a result, Chris Hani emerges from the book as being equally one of the staunch black South African communists of the era, as he was one of the most devout Christians to have ever lived during his lifetime.
It brings to life a Christ Hani whose daring determination to achieve his goal sometimes even pitted him head on against his own in the African National Congress/South African Communist Party to a point of nearly losing his life once as a consequence thereof, a gentle, thoughtful, highly active yet forceful character whose every action elicited critical response from peers high up, or lower down during his lifetime of 50 plus one year.
In this, the 'hero' character still idolized by many formerly oppressed South Africans especially black; finds both form and justification particularly given that Chris Hani never lived long enough to see his goal achieved after being slain by a lone assassin - a political rightwing young white male - while peace negotiations were taking place which would eventually lead to all South Africans participation equally in the country's governance and socio economic life.
But, the book does not fully reflect on Chris Hani's life as otherwise would be the case, had another critical voice, still alive - his widow Limpho, agreed to share her own experience and insights on her husband. Why she apparently refused to do so is not clear, but definitely leaves a huge if significant gap in the creation of a collective memory of Chris.
Indeed, the absence of Hani's wife's input in the book also reflects on another fascinating side of Chris Hani's personal life and which seems full with all sorts mishaps, some out of poor judgement and others seemingly circumstantial.
A set of glaring weaknesses in the management of his personal life, especially with regards the very few women in his life, from early on in his life depicts a Chris Hani who, despite his high intellect and seemingly strong moral disposition, was equally vulnerable and careless enough at times to badly compromise his "mesianic" image.
In fact, in this regard; Chris Hani shares a lot in common with some of those with whom he actively fought the struggle for liberation. There are far too many instances where personal lives were sacrificed carelessly 'for the struggle' with entire families in some cases effectively abandoned. It is academic whether or not such personal sacrifices could have been done in any other way decent and morally just under relevant prevailing circumstances and conditions.
However, finally; Smith and Tromp's record of Hani lays bare (to the extent possible) the true nature (highs and lows) of the ANC liberation struggle prior to and during the exile years, including its relationship with the SACP of which Chris rose to lead shortly before his expiry on Easter Weekend 1993.
There are those who think that had Chris Hani not died, he would have already become the country's president, and among these are those that think that in fact, had he risen to leadership of the country after Nelson Mandela, the country would have taken a slightly if not totally different path to that towards which it has been led by two of his contemporaries and comrades, Thabo Mbeki (1999-2007) and Jacob Zuma (2009-present).
It is only speculation that leads to fantasy and nothing more.
Personally, even prior to reading the book, I had great admiration for Chris Hani especially for the stories of his bravery as an Umkhonto Wesizwe commander and with that his personal and legendary heroics as an MK soldier cutting bush and man through Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively) in the late 60s only to end up in jail at Seretse Khama's Botswana jail compounds. I'd also heard or read of his daring challenges of ANC authorities during the exile years and which at times earned him the full wrath of the organisation - "The Manifesto" being one of this instances.
It mattered not that he was or called himself a "communist" nor the fact that some referred to him and would have the rest of us believe that he was a "terrorist."
It's admiration for Chris Hani that found comfort especially after meeting him, interviewing him at least three or four times on radio and covering some of his political mobilization rallies in the Transkei and some parts of the Eastern Cape during the return of exiles following the unbanning of liberation struggle political organizations in 1990.
For any black South African who (like me) had never been in exile or jailed in Robben Island for political activism; Umtata (the capital of then 'independent' Transkei homeland) was THE PLACE to be in those early days of the "new South Africa" and I just happened to have the honor.
The book is a must have for those like me, who seek still to make sense of a whole range of issues concerning the rebuilding of the South African nation.
March 11, 2015
Well researched, very balanced, shows the good and the bad, casts the ANC in a different light at a time when books written by white ANC bashers are too one sided and black ANC praise singers on the opposite side of the field. This a superb account of a giant in the S.A libertaion struggle. I rate if 5 out of 5 and it earned every single one of those stars.
November 7, 2009
A very good biography of a person that should have the title "President for Life" bestowed upon him.
VIVA Comrade Hani!
VIVA Comrade Hani!
November 1, 2019
Fascinating chronicle of the SA liberation movement.
April 28, 2026
It's Freedom Day, a good day to finish a book about Chris Hani and write a review. A Life too Short by Janet Smith and Beauregard Tromp has been sitting on my shelf since shortly after Beauregard signed it at the launch at Hyde Park in 2009. Why did it take so long? My only defence is that there are always far too many books around that I want to read. A facebook friend recently asked what I thought of her review of the same book, and I replied that I'd read it for myself and tell her what I think so here it is Sumaya Mall:
I wish I had met Chris Hani. The more I know about him, the greater my respect for the man who was most likely South Africa's version of Thomas Sankara grows. I remember very clearly the moment that I learnt of his death - I was in a car with friends, driving from Montreal to Quebec City, listening to the CBC. I was spending a few days in Quebec before returning to South Africa to take over the challenging management of Capital Radio (another story for another time). My friends saw my face turn white; I explained to them what terrible and potentially disastrous news this was. Smith (no relation) and Tromp paint a very human portrait of a man driven, at some times it seems almost single-handedly, to force the hand of the apartheid government and bring about rapid change. I have met or heard of people like Hani in other countries - they usually end up dead, in prison, or in exile. this of course was Hani's fate. Hani new it was his fate as well. I would hazard a guess and say his fate was sealed when he wrote the memorandum in 1969 criticising ANC top brass for their treatment and/or ignoring of MK from the early days of the bush war in Rhodesia - Thabo Mbeki is singled out (read the book to find out more). By the time Hani had made the choice to lead the South African Communist Party, and hand over the reins of MK, in the eyes of most white South Africans, he had become more or less terrorist number one. The ANC and other liberation groups were all lumped with the denomination communist, as was the widespread case in the USA and its satellite countries (I remember election posters in the streets of Johannesburg reading "If you liked Idi Amin, you'll love Nelson Mandela." It's no surprise that right wing white surpremacist groups hatched a plan to assassinate Hani; they were blinded by hate and fear. The book also looks briefly (possibly the subject of another book) at potential links between certain rogue elements of Mk and its Zimbabwean counterpart ZIPRA with the CIA and Mossad - not surprising given the support both countries gave to the two pariah states. Hani did not live to see democracy arrive in South Africa. Had he survived, there's a better than excellent chance that he would have become president. I know what speculation is worth, but if this indeed had happened, I imagine today's South Africa would look considerably different from the current version. The rest I leave to your imagination. There's an updated version of this book - highly recommended.
I wish I had met Chris Hani. The more I know about him, the greater my respect for the man who was most likely South Africa's version of Thomas Sankara grows. I remember very clearly the moment that I learnt of his death - I was in a car with friends, driving from Montreal to Quebec City, listening to the CBC. I was spending a few days in Quebec before returning to South Africa to take over the challenging management of Capital Radio (another story for another time). My friends saw my face turn white; I explained to them what terrible and potentially disastrous news this was. Smith (no relation) and Tromp paint a very human portrait of a man driven, at some times it seems almost single-handedly, to force the hand of the apartheid government and bring about rapid change. I have met or heard of people like Hani in other countries - they usually end up dead, in prison, or in exile. this of course was Hani's fate. Hani new it was his fate as well. I would hazard a guess and say his fate was sealed when he wrote the memorandum in 1969 criticising ANC top brass for their treatment and/or ignoring of MK from the early days of the bush war in Rhodesia - Thabo Mbeki is singled out (read the book to find out more). By the time Hani had made the choice to lead the South African Communist Party, and hand over the reins of MK, in the eyes of most white South Africans, he had become more or less terrorist number one. The ANC and other liberation groups were all lumped with the denomination communist, as was the widespread case in the USA and its satellite countries (I remember election posters in the streets of Johannesburg reading "If you liked Idi Amin, you'll love Nelson Mandela." It's no surprise that right wing white surpremacist groups hatched a plan to assassinate Hani; they were blinded by hate and fear. The book also looks briefly (possibly the subject of another book) at potential links between certain rogue elements of Mk and its Zimbabwean counterpart ZIPRA with the CIA and Mossad - not surprising given the support both countries gave to the two pariah states. Hani did not live to see democracy arrive in South Africa. Had he survived, there's a better than excellent chance that he would have become president. I know what speculation is worth, but if this indeed had happened, I imagine today's South Africa would look considerably different from the current version. The rest I leave to your imagination. There's an updated version of this book - highly recommended.
July 17, 2015
The story provides good background of what happened in the 80s when young black South Africans decided to join to arms struggle in order to fight the apartheid regime. Flaws and cracks begin to show in the movement when fellow cadres only think about themselves and their pockets and leave the trainees without food and put them on the firing line with insufficient supplies. Chris Hani had high moral standards and deep empathy for fellow human beings, indeed we will never know where he could have lead South Africa to. We owe our freedom to people like him. The struggle continues.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews