Mac Maharaj, former politician and editor of Reflections in Prison, was recently invited to John Robbie’s Talk Radio 702 show to speak about South African politics.

In the interview, Maharaj speaks about OR Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. He says “this triumvirate, you cannot talk about liberation history without them; you cannot talk about present day South Africa without them”. He goes on to speak about his experience and relationship with each of them.

Maharaj then reflects on the recent Fees Must Fall university protests, and relates it to the Freedom Charter. He suggests that the present government would do well to consider the way the leaders of the past approached the Congress of the People: instead of politicians telling people what they should believe, they went out to discover what the people wanted.

“What people are expressing, even in a democracy,” Maharaj says, “is a sense of marginalisation and a sense of not being regarded as relevant.” He then explains why it is that he remains optimistic about South Africa and the future of its democracy.

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Book details

• Reflections in Prison by Mac Maharaj
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  EAN: 9781868723546
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