COURAGEOUS EDITOR SOUGHT THE TRUTH AND MADE SURE THE SPARKS FLEW
IT IS with a sense of sadness that we have learnt of the passing of a senior political commentator, Allister Sparks.
He may have been criticised by the right wing for being too liberal and by the extreme left of being part of the system, but he played an important part in revealing the circumstances of Steve Biko’s murder. September marks the month of the death of the South African Student Organisation (Saso) founder and Black Consciousness Movement leader.
Despite t he of ficial version of Biko being involved in a scuffle/hunger strike, it took a feisty, young, independent, junior reporter working for the Rand Daily Mail to get the real story and the facts.
And to the credit of the theneditor, Sparks, the reporter was allowed to persist with the investigation. The newspaper’s probe highlighted the brutality and inhumane treatment of political detainees at the hands of the notorious Security Branch and notably Biko’s unnatural death.
The reporter’s name was Helen Zille, who was then charged for “tendentious reporting”.
The then-justice minister, Jimmy Kruger, was widely condemned for his comments on Biko’s death at the time, “It leaves me cold”.
The Rand Daily Mail ultimately became too much of a hot potato for the proprietors, who closed it down.
Sparks courageously played a key role in making South Africans aware of the facts surrounding Biko’s death in 1977. The seasoned journalist remained an outspoken columnist and was sharp as ever. Rest in peace, hamba kahle.
Muhammad Omar Durban North