TUESDAY, 6.00PM
AFTER a morning of adjournments and delays, Clive Derby-Lewis began his testimony in front of the amnesty committee of the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission in the Pretoria City Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
Judge Hassen Mall ruled that the application hearing begin without any further delays, despite a request from Derby-Lewis’s lawyer, Harry Prinsloo, for more time to study the admissibility of statements submitted on Monday by advocate George Bizos, representing the Hani family and the SACP.
Derby-Lewis told an emotional audience — made up of a small contingent of thin-lipped Conservative Party representatives and about 100 SACP supporters waving placards — that Chris Hani died ”because he was a priority political target” at the time.
Derby-Lewis spoke of the situation in South Africa since 1990 as a ”war”. He said: ”In every war, there are casualties and the ones who suffer are the ones who remain … What we did we did because we felt a deep obligation towards our country.” He added, ”I do not expect the Hani family to forgive me, but to understand there was nothing personal in the attack. If anything, [Hani’s death] is an indication of his importance … If he had been an ordinary member of the SACP he would still have been alive today.”
Amidst cries of ”Haai, wena, o sile!” (”Hey, does he think he’s clever?!”) from the audience, Derby-Lewis told the committee he was loyal to the ”broad right”, and that he believes his actions were in the interests of ”self-determination for all the peoples of South Africa”.
He then went on to give a detailed account of his growth as a political figure in South Africa, and how he came to be aligned with the right wing. He read excerpts of letters of support dating from as far back as 1972, from noted right-wing leaders, including Andries Treurnicht and Eugene Terreblanche. Judge Mall requested that Derby-Lewis cut short his ”extensive narrative” and keep to relevant details.
The hearing was adjourned for the day and Derby-Lewis will continue to speak tomorrow. Co-applicant Janus Walus was silent the whole day.