Thembile Ndabeni
Cape Town - What is both unique and amazing is that the national composition of South Africa was also reflected in the Struggle.
Whether people contributed in their capacity as individuals, or as part of the collective, the bottom-line is that it all mattered.
The very contribution made one a marked person by the authorities and became dangerous as time progressed.
Taking strong action against the apartheid regime warranted hard action from the beginning from the authorities. The Struggle against apartheid was taken step-by-step until it reached a saturation point.
But the likes of David Pratt wanted to make it short and went solo after not getting support for his intentions.
Pratt did not just make headlines but risked his life. He did not rely on any political party or army but took a gun and shot Hendrik Verwoed, the Prime Minister of South Africa at that time.
He said he was not shooting at him but at apartheid. Compared to Dimitri Tsafendas, Pratt was sane.
Though he had a psychological or psychiatric challenge, from the look of things the decision to shoot Verwoed was a conscious one.
If not, why did he do that, given both his colour and class background? Those two Cs (colour and class) mattered most in the past, especially the former because it was the umbrella that covered your whole self as a white person.
If you were white (colour) you got first preference in everything. He was coming from a well-off family (class), therefore was supposed to enjoy his privileges.
What is amazing is that there were black people who were enjoying the privileges of being wealthy but thought nothing about other black people.
Was this not So amazing? This was the title of the song by Luther Vandross. Black people should have sung or sing it for Pratt who loved them such that he sacrificed his life, leaving aside colour and class privileges for them.
Is it not amazing that he shot a leader of his country for being an architect and advocate of a system that was meant to benefit him? Pratt, as a white person?
How could he risk life instead of enjoying the privileges of being white (colour-c) and rich (class-c)? It is, again, unfortunate that what he did just made headlines for that period, but his legacy, if there is legacy, has never been acknowledged.
He made history, not only for shooting Verwoed but for the motive behind his background, both in terms of colour and class. But should that be clouded by his allegiance to the British Empire and the questioning of his sanity?
There is no doubt he hated apartheid and had a feeling for the people who were oppressed.
The central issue is insanity... how factual was that? No doubt about his medical history, but was it his medical condition that made him sympathise with the oppressed?
Was the comprehensive insanity in his medical report not a “cover-up” to save him from persecution? He was rejected by the liberals and other white moderate politicians. As much as he survived persecution, and was sent to a mental hospital, that was a “persecution of a special kind”.
He later committed suicide. But the question is, does he not deserve the honour?
If the answer is yes, was his name not supposed to have been handed over to the committee responsible for awards for contributions in the Struggle against the apartheid system? Honoured or not, he made history that did not only make headlines nationally but internationally as well.
He hated the apartheid system and was sympathetic to the oppressed people, especially after the Sharpeville Massacre.
David Pratt died in October 1961. Therefore, this month marks 61 years since his death.
Ndabeni is a former history tutor at UWC and a former teacher at Bulumko Senior Secondary in Khayelitsha.
Cape Times