Three days before Chris Hani‘s assassination in April 1993 he was interviewed by German photographer Reiner Leist. It was the last interview that the South African Communist Party leader gave.
The recording of that interview has been kept in the archives of the Goethe-Institut in Germany for the past 25 years.
Yesterday, the interview — which contains Hani‘s hopes for what a democratic South Africa might look like — was played in the country for the first time.
It was aired at the Goethe on Main art gallery by Gabi Ngcobo, the curator of the exhibition No other country: Gospel according to Chris Hani.
In the interview, Hani expressed his wish that his country would become a land of equal opportunity, for both blacks and whites.
Said Hani: “I will not be part of blacks oppressing whites, that is not the path of reconciliation.”
He went on to speak about the state of South Africa‘s economy and urged the ANC to attract foreign investment to the economy. Hani said that investment was crucial to job creation.
Hani said that blacks, who then constituted 70% of the population, lacked many essential services — be it access to water or access to a decent education.
He urged trade unions to co-operate with the government and develop a strategy to effectively utilise the nation‘s resources.
Although Hani was very optimistic about the new South Africa, he acknowledged that there were scars in “our society” and that the road to a democratic nation was not going to be an easy one.
He said: “We should not be discouraged. Progress in reconciliation will not run smoothly and conflict will erupt.”
He told Leist that South Africa possessed the resources to ensure there was enough for all — black and white — to live together peacefully and comfortably.
He said: “With mineral resources, universities and a beautiful land, if utilised properly, South Africa has tremendous potential to have a prosperous economy.”
Hani said he had lost faith in the church‘s ability to right the wrongs of apartheid, and relied on Marxism, philosophy and science.
The Hani exhibition includes contemporary responses by students and "guests" to Leists‘s interview.
Ngcobo believes that Hani‘s view still has a strong relevance today and he wonders what Hani would have made of the current state of South Africa. — The Times
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