Killer’s unknown side explored

Well-travelled man with high intellect stood up for blacks

Title: The Man Who Killed Apartheid – The Life Of Dimitri Tsafendas Author: Harris Dousemetzis with Gerry Loughran Publisher: Jacana Reviewer: Mduduzi Ndzingi

Dimitri Tsafendas’s name will always be synonymous with the demise of the apartheid regime.

Before Harris Dousemetzis’s thorough investigation of the man who dealt the fatal blow to the “chief architect of apartheid”, little was known about him save for the narrative that he was an insane lunatic without any political interests or affiliations who believed that a tapeworm in his stomach made him kill prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd.

The Man Who Killed Apartheid is one of the most meaningful contributions to the archives of this country. Here we see a man who was born out of wedlock from a master and a servant.

He had no relationship with his black mother but remained compassionate towards the ill-treated, who were mostly black, and standing up for them on occasion.

He also enjoyed the privilege of being classified as white, something he would later attempt to change.

The book shows a man who was well-travelled, had a high level of intellect, spoke nine languages and had a keen interest in the affairs of the poor black people.

Dousemetzis highlights the injustices of the apartheid government and the democratic SA government that refused to acknowledge the political motivation behind the execution of a tyrant and “Hitler’s best student”.

‘‘ He also enjoyed the privilege as white, which he would later try to change