It is twenty-five years this month since the assassination of Chris Hani, general secretary of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Hani was also Mandela’s de facto deputy; his murder opened the way to the disappointments and betrayals of Thabo Mbeki and Joseph Zuma. Here is a poem by Andy Croft to mark the occasion.
‘Doodgeskiet’ means ‘dead’ in Afrikaans; Comrade B was Hani’s name inside Umkhonto we Sizwe; he was murdered in Boksburg; ‘Guptagate’ is the popular short-hand for the corruption that enmired the ANC under Zuma’s leadership. The poem is, of course, based on the old Wobbly song ‘Joe Hill’.
‘I never died,’ says he.
We locked you up,’ says I.
While you were still asleep.
Says he, ‘you'll find me still.