Post #2038942

2026-04-24 12:22 UTC

His intervention in our case had been very scholarly. Even when he was clearly being intimidated, in my view, by the Court, he defended his viewpoint with dignity and conviction about its correctness. He earned our respect. I also had the pleasure of meeting him recently at a UWC event in Cape Town, and we were on the same panel that was continuing to critique the TRC, and once again, I could not but admire his scholarliness in his contribution to the debate at that event. #SouthAfrica #AndreDuToitTributes

Replies (1)

@Zumbador@mefi.social 2026-04-24 12:34

In his tribute to my father, Riaan Eksteen argued that my father's contribution to the talks at Dakar had a significant influence on subsequent events. He writes: At Dakar, André played a pivotal role — one that remains largely unacknowledged. He had been asked to prepare a background paper on “strategies for change,” addressing the most contentious issues of the time: the legitimacy of armed struggle, and the ANC’s claim to represent the totality of resistance. ... “In building national unity,” he argued, “we must create the social and political space to accommodate all forces.” In retrospect, this was more than an intervention in a debate. It was a conceptual bridge to the negotiated settlement that would follow. In my view, it remains one of the most important intellectual contributions to South Africa’s democratic transition. You can read the full article here: https://africaunscrambled.substack.com/p/loved-and-lost-an-afrikaner-giant #SouthAfrica #AndreDuToitTributes

Open ##2038943