The Institute for African Alternatives and Surplus Radical Books invites you to our Chris Hani commemorative event, on the 30th anniversary of his assassination. The evening includes the screening of the rare SABC-made documentary, ‘The Life and Times of Chris Hani,’ followed by two reflections from former Minister of Arts and Culture and ANC stalwart, Pallo Jordan and Sam Longford, a postdoctoral research fellow, and curator at the Centre for Humanities Research, UWC. His Ph.D. dissertation, “The Untimely Death of Chris Hani: Discipline, Spectrality, and the Haunting Possibility of Return”, focused on the contested ways in which Hani, is remembered and memorialized today
The assassination of Chris Hani, then leader of the South African Communist Party and erstwhile Chief of Staff of UmKhonto we Sizwe, on 10th April 1993, was an act that sent shock waves through South Africa, then in an early and fragile stage of its transition to democracy. A deliberate act, calculated to derail the negotiations, it came close to achieving that nefarious goal with the media pronouncing this terrible crime a ‘Portent of Doom.’ Amidst the ensuing turmoil, it became necessary for Nelson Mandela and the leadership of the ANC to appeal for calm and keep the transition on track. Against the odds, they succeeded. 30 years on, in a time when democratic South Africa, faces grave social, economic, and political challenges, we honor his memory with this event and revisit his legacy.
This event takes place on Monday 17th April 2023, at 5.30 pm, at the Cinema, Bertha House, 67-69 Main Road, Mowbray.