Former state president PW Botha was celebrating his 90th birthday on Thursday with family and friends at his home at Wilderness in the Southern Cape, his daughter Elanza Maritz said.
Speaking on Thursday, she said she had not seen him yet herself — she was hosting a light supper for him on Thursday evening at her home in nearby George — but had talked to him by phone.
”He sounded wonderful,” she said.
”He’s really well mentally. He’s 90 years old physically, but mentally he’s really great, razor sharp.”
This was the view of not only herself, but of a number of people in regular contact with Botha.
”He goes around a lot, walks around,” she said.
Police on duty at Botha’s residence said they had enjoyed some of the birthday cake.
Botha has three daughters and two sons, and lives with his second wife Barbara.
He was elected MP for George in the landslide 1948 election that brought the National Party to power, and was head of government through the most turbulent years of the anti-apartheid struggle.
Nicknamed ”the big crocodile” by opponents, he coined the phrase ”total onslaught” to justify the ever-greater use of force to suppress growing black resistance to whites-only rule. He was seen out of the presidency in 1989 by F W De Klerk after suffering a light stroke earlier that year. – Sapa