It’s been nearly two decades since South African President FW de Klerk, in an act of high political drama, stunned the world by announcing the release from detention of anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. It was a watershed moment. The revered African leader’s freedom signalled the end of the hated apartheid system. Four years later, in April 1994, when the first democratic elections were held, Mandela’s party, the African National Congress, won 63 per cent of the vote.
Apartheid was built on systematic racism. White Afrikaners – descendants of 17th century Dutch and French settlers – wielded near complete political and economic power. The black majority, 80 per cent of the population, was marginalized and brutally exploited. There was an implicit promise that all whites would be guaranteed a basic minimum standard of living.
