Answers that Embarrassed South Africa

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In her thirty-six years in Parliament, from 1953 to 1989, she infuriated the Nationalists with her probing questions. On average she asked two hundred questions a year. When accused by a minister of asking questions in Parliament that embarrassed South Africa, she famously replied, 'It is not my questions that embarrassed South Africa; it is your answers.'

A Brutalised Society

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Judge Cameron did not doubt that apartheid had brutalised society. But he had no doubt where the main problem lay: it was not the constitution but the police, who were 'hopelessly corrupt and hopelessly managed', he said. No one he knew believed the police's crime figures. The only crime that was not under-reported was murder, and that was because 'in each case there is a body'.

Long Debates

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Often in ANC meetings there would be long debates that ended without a decision, he said. The danger, he concluded, was that 'you end up with the process being king, and you lose sight of the goal'.

March Against Myself

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All leaders had to learn that their strength lay not in themselves but in their supporters. Separated from the masses, they became ordinary people, and this applied to all great leaders, even Churchill, Mandela or Roosevelt. If he himself failed to provide the right leadership and to deliver the fruits of liberation, then he too should be cast aside. "If I can't deliver, I will march against myself."

We Sat in Cells Wondering ... ...

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'We are trying to heal a deeply traumatised, wounded and polarised society,' he said, 'So many South Africans, particularly whites, see me laughing and unaware that we sat in cells wondering why we were there.'