After Mandela: The Battle for the Soul of South Africa

Synopsis

'A brisk, lively and vividly written portrait of post-apartheid South Africa' - Peter Godwin, author of "Mukiwa". In the early 1990s, the African National Congress, led by Nelson Mandela, engaged in a historic and peaceful transition to power in South Africa. For some, the story of South Africa ended with that moment - the victory of the ANC over the bitter injustice of the apartheid regime, and Mandela's astonishing mission of reconciliation. Yet while the economy has grown steadily, as has a fledgling middle class, and black South Africans have attained positions of great wealth and power, rampant inequality still remains. Violence is endemic in the townships and in the major cities. Race relations are fraught as whites struggle to find their place in the new order. President Thabo Mbeki's denial of the AIDS epidemic has led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths and been morally and politically disastrous. Mbeki's failure to check the abuses of Robert Mugabe's dictatorship in Zimbabwe has tarnished South Africa's reputation abroad and baffled Mbeki's former friends. South Africa should be the continent's greatest hope, yet it stands at a crossroads as it faces its most serious test since the end of white rule. Uncertainty over its trajectory intensified with the election of Jacob Zuma, a charismatic populist who is embroiled in a corruption scandal, as Mandela's second successor as leader of the ANC, in 2007. This controversial choice unleashed turmoil within Africa's grandest liberation movement. Might it also signal the start of an unhappy new chapter in the post-apartheid story? The collapse of neighbouring Zimbabwe is a chilling example of how a revolutionary party can ossify in power and lose sight of its ideals. The journey from Mandela to Zuma is a political and moral epic, populated with extraordinary characters, and with the fate of South Africa at its core. In this expertly researched and beautifully told account, award-winning journalist Alec Russell draws on his deep knowledge of South Africa and his relationships with its most important figures - Mbeki, Zuma, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and of course Mandela himself - to address the questions facing the nation. At a turbulent time for many African countries as they emerge into the second phase of the post-independence era, this book will have a wide appeal for Africa-watchers everywhere.