‘ The Russian Federation does not need a sharp political turn … You must not turn the wheel sharply on a big ship. Nothing good came from the fact that the country turned sharply to the right. ‘
— Russian Federation Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, as his party led the poll
‘ No, and no again. ‘
— Russian President Boris Yeltsin, on the possibility of a Communist Party comeback
‘ In the new South Africa, finding people who supported apartheid in the past is as difficult as finding hens’ teeth. ‘
— Methodist Bishop Peter Storey, wearily, after a day of questioning prospective truth and reconciliation commissioners in November
‘ Mr Mandela must be reminded that the colour black is not in a rainbow. The Boere Afrikaner does not want to be part of the rainbow nation. ‘
— Afrikaner Volksfront general secretary Dr Harry Mocke
‘ I am not going to repent … What I did, I did for my country, for my God, for my people and all the peoples of South Africa. ‘
— Former state president PW Botha
‘ Nobody should lecture me about reconciliation. I started reconciliation in South Africa after a lot of humiliation. I am the architect of reconciliation.
— President Nelson Mandela
‘ The childish fight between FW de Klerk and Tokyo Sexwale reminds me of two bald men fighting over a comb ‘
— DP leader Tony Leon
‘ Cuba’s prostitutes are among the most educated and healthiest on earth. ‘
— Cuban president Fidel Castro
‘ Oh God, Nicole was right. She said he was going to kill her and get away with it. ‘
— Faye Resnick, friend of Nicole Brown
‘ I will pursue as my primary goal in life — – the killer or killers. They are out there somewhere. ‘
— OJ Simpson, after his acquittal
‘ No, he did not. Never did. And if he did, he would have gotten a frying pan upside down his head. ‘
— Marguerite Thomas, OJ Simpson’s first wife, on whether he abused her
‘ It is true I killed 900 people and I expect to be executed. ‘
— Musoro Ndura, a Rwandan Hutu
‘ Become what you want to be, the rainbow people of God. ‘
— Pope John Paul II, speaking at an outdoor mass at Gosforth Park in Germiston in
‘ How you die is the most important thing you ever do. It’s the exit, the final scene of the glorious epic of your life. ‘
— Sixties psychedelic icon Timothy Leary, announcing he has terminal cancer
‘ There is a Tibetan saying: it is better to have lived one day as a tiger than 1 000 years as a sheep. ‘
— Jim Bollard, whose wife Alison Hargreaves perished climbing K-2
‘ Rumours, Dreams and Promises. ‘
— IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi on the meaning of RDP
‘ I will dance in Washington, I will dance in St Martin’s-in-the-Field, I will clap my hands and make a joyful noise unto the Lord. What makes you think that God does not laugh? ‘
— Archbishop Desmond Tutu
‘ In the spirit of Masakhane, we must build up what has been destroyed. Let’s build Brenda.
— Gauteng premier Tokyo Sexwale on finding a rehabilitation centre for singer Brenda
‘ We don’t believe they have any rights at all. ‘
— Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe on gay
‘ You know, I’m the type of artist who has to die first before he cracks it. ‘
— Rock musician James Phillips, shortly before his death
‘ I have been innocently sucked into this
— Attorney Lucia Coter, who reduced to R39 000 her R399 000 bill to the Mphumalanga government
‘ If you try to keep them out at the front door, they will come in the back door or the side door. ‘
— Pallo Jordan, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting, on the challenge international conglomerates pose to
‘ Lord take my soul, but the struggle continues. ‘
— Nigerian playwright and Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, moments before being hanged in
‘ Our faces may be white but our hearts are the colours of the rainbow. ‘
— Rugby Springbok manager Morne du Plessis
‘ I will never marry again. ‘
— Graca Machel, widow of the slain Mozambican president, on reports she might marry Nelson Mandela
‘ I’ve never been one to blow my own trumpet, as they say. ‘
— Actor Hugh Grant, subsequently fined $1 000 for ‘lewd conduct’ with a prostitute
‘ If I was rating it out of 10 in terms of size and quality, I’d give it a six. I’ve seen bigger and I’ve seen smaller. But his was cute. ‘
— Prostitute Stella Marie Thompson, aka Divine Brown, on actor Hugh Grant
‘ There are 16 wars in the world today. ‘
— Deputy Defence Minister Ronnie Kasrils on why he needs armaments
‘ We were not white enough to avoid the repression of the old South Africa, and we are not black enough to enjoy the benefits of the new South Africa. ‘
— Mervyn Ross, whose Kleurling Weerstandsbeweging was launched this year