Unpacking paranoia against protector

THE mindless and gratuitous attack by Deputy Minister of Defence Kebby Maphatsoe on Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, labelling her as a CIA agent and spy, reminds me of a case heard in the Regional Court in Durban in the late 1970s.

Mr John Broome, SC, (later to become Deputy Judge President in the Natal Provincial Division), on my instructions, defended the late George Sewpershad on some or other charge under the notorious Suppression of Communism Act.

Many years later I served with John Broome on the Natal Bench for a short while before his retirement. During one of our conversations, I reminded him of his argument when he made the submission for George’s acquittal – that the problem with the security police, and by extension the prosecution, is that they “see a communist behind every blade of grass”.

That submission could not better describe the National Party government’s obsession with communism at the time.

Anyone who spoke out against apartheid was branded a communist.

Twenty years into our hardwon democracy, we see evidence of that paranoia raising its ugly head in the attacks on Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. Whatever, except blind and unquestioning loyalty, could have possessed the Deputy Minister of Defence, holding an important portfolio in government, to make such an astonishing statement?

The ruling party did well to distance itself from the unfortunate and mindless bluster.

Mention of George Sewpershad’s name brings back for me a flood of memories, going back in time to 1951 when we enrolled to do our matric at Sastri College. Not much has been written about this unassuming and sadly forgotten hero of the struggle. I hope to do justice to him in the writings I have embarked on.

I could not take part in the deliberations leading to the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) revival in the 1970s as I was banned at the time. I am almost certain that he would have been reluctant to accept the presidency, as I remember him to be a man who sought neither fame nor fortune, preferring to remain in the background.

He was shy and reserved to a fault, the confirmed bachelor, who read widely with a preference for the philosophical.

He would often quote from the writings of Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) on philosophy and religion. Krishnamurti stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche in every human being, and emphasised that such a revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religion, political or social (Wikipedia).

George at Sastri College was not “one of the boys”.

He kept much to himself. After matriculating, we went on to study for our BA and LLB degrees at the then segregated University of Natal. He was not actively involved in student politics.

It surprised me that he took to law as a career as he was afflicted with a speech impediment, which would have made it extremely difficult in court proceedings.

He overcame the impediment with a steely resolve,and by the time he had completed his articles with Roley Arenstein (at about the same time as Rabbi Bugwandeen), he was a different person. The stammer was scarcely discernible.

In the early years, even as articled clerks we were engaged in human rights work and as activists in the NIC.

So joining him as a partner to set up the first “non-white” legal practice in Port Shepstone in 1962 was a non-issue. We had known each other for 10 years.

The Port Shepstone venture was of short duration – not more than six months.

Whilewe were welcomed by potential local black, coloured and Indian clientele, the local white legal firms were not welcoming, and from the attitude of the local all-white magistracy, which bordered on the hostile, we were convinced that our political activism might well have been responsible for the cold shoulder.

The security police dirty tricks department may have had a hand in it. We would have been identified with activist lawyers of the likes of Roley Arenstein, JN Singh, Ismail Meer, NT Naicker, Hassen Mall and a host of other antiapartheid activist lawyers.

On an unforgettable day during our brief sojourn in Port Shepstone, George returned from court after defending a black client on some or other criminal charge.

He was visibly distraught. Addressing the court in mitigation of sentence, he submitted, inter alia, that the accused was poor, unemployed and illiterate.

He had a family to support – I don’t remember all the details – but clearly a plea for a suspended sentence.

A shocked and embarrassed George Sewpershad was shouted down by the magistrate, to the effect that the court was not prepared to listen to all this “communist nonsense”.

This was not the first such experience for either of us – though not always so blatant.

George and I had to decide whether we could continue practising in circumstances where our clients ran the risk of being prejudiced merely because they had engaged politically “tainted” lawyers.

Then came word via the grapevine that the security police were contemplating imposing banning orders on either one or both of us.

Imposition of such an order under the Suppression of Communism Act meant that we would be restricted to a particular magisterial area – which would have been Port Shepstone.

With due respect and eternal gratitude to people like the late Mr and Mrs EP Moodley (grandparents of Ravi Pillay, the current MEC for Human Settlements), who helped setting up our practice and offered us the hospitality of their home, Port Shepstone was not a place either George or I would have relished being restricted to for the next five years – away from family and friends.

We packed our bags, sold the practice and left. As fate would have it, I was the first to be targeted.

At the end of that same year (1963), within six months of us having left Port Shepstone, I was banned and restricted to the Durban magisterial district. The pre-emptive move to Durban was timely.

George went on to practice in Verulam right up to his passing away, and I went on to to assist Roley Arenstein and JN Singh in the defence of Billy Nair, Curnick Ndlovu and others in the first sabotage trial in the country, in Pietermaritzburg. (More of this trial later in this series.)

There is a lot more to write about George, a real character – the dedicated human rights activist, addicted to his tea and his daily dose of Scott’s Emulsion (which I discovered only when we spent some time detained at the Modderbee prison in Benoni in the 1980s). A man not known for his sartorial elegance, but with a heart of gold, and a steely resolve to always do the right thing; never one to seek the limelight. I learned not so long ago that Nelson Mandela offered George a seat in Parliament, but he refused.

For those of us who knew him intimately, especially those in the NIC and the UDF, he had an uncanny ability for prediction, probably due his philosophical leanings.

Unlike many of us, he is the one person who would not have been at all surprised at the paranoia displayed by our Deputy Minister of Defence towards the public protector.

Pillay is a retired judge, human rights activist and political activist. Post is printed and published by Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal, 18 Osborne Street, Durban, for the proprietors and publishers, Independent Newspapers (Pty) Limited, at 18 Osborne Street, Durban. The copyright in the literary and artistic works contained in this newspaper and its supplements, as well as in the published editions and any other content or material (including in any online version), belongs exclusively to Independent Newspapers (Pty) Limited unless otherwise stated. The copyright, including the reproduction and adaptation of any content or material contained in this newspaper and its supplements, is expressly reserved to the publisher, Independent Newspapers (Pty) Limited, under Section 12(7) of the Copyright Act of 1978. Post has committed itself to the Press Code of Professional Practice, which prescribes that news must be reported in a truthful, accurate, fair and balanced manner. If you feel we don’t live up to the Press Code, please contact The Press Ombudsman in writing at 2nd Floor, 7 St David’s Park, St David’s Place, Parktown, 2193 or PO Box 47221, Parklands 2121, or email pressombudsman@ombudsman. org.za (www.ombudsman.org.za). The circulation of Post is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which can be contacted at 2nd Floor, 7 St David’s Park, St David’s Place, Parktown, 2193 or PO Box 47221, Parklands 2121. Cover price: R6,30 (includes VAT at 14%).