Revisiting the legacy of Neil Aggett

Abstract

Revisiting the legacy of Neil Aggett Edward Webster (bio) Preface Five years ago I gave the Neil Aggett memorial lecture at Rhodes University. I titled it 'The death of Neil Aggett: unions and politics, then and now'. I never submitted it for publication; it all seemed a long time ago and the issues seemed lost in time. But the inquest into Aggett's death – postponed indefinitely on February 24, 2020 due to the presiding judge falling ill – has made me reflect on the argument I made in the lecture on how and why Neil Aggett died and what it meant then for labour and what it means now. Beverley Naidoo (2014) in her brilliant biography of Aggett suggests two possible scenarios on his death: one scenario is that he was murdered and his killers faked it as a suicide; the other is that he killed himself. In a very sensitive and subtle way Naidoo argues for the latter interpretation. In the light of the evidence presented so far at the re-opened inquest, she now believes that the first scenario 'looks much stronger'. She suggests that Aggett's 'courage in making a statement to Sgt Blom could well have infuriated his torturers to want to teach him an even tougher lesson than he endured in the "long weekend"' (personal communication, April 4,2020). Importantly, Naidoo stands by her argument that she believes he was not a 'member' of the ANC. Barbara Hogan testified at the reopened inquest that she reached out to Aggett to join the ANC. Aggett, however, turned her down. She remembered that he was sympathetic to the ANC's aims and goals but was also emphatic about not wanting to become a member because he knew that being connected to a banned organisation, as the ANC was since 1960, would compromise his work for the Food and Canning Workers Union (FCWU) (interview with Barbara Hogan-Wits Communication Office, unpublished article. February 15, 2020). Indeed, the Aggett story could in some ways be seen as a counter narrative to those [End Page 131] who mistakenly believe that the ANC was the only actor in the struggle for democracy in South Africa. The deeply moving evidence at the reopened inquest of those detained at the time of Aggett's death brought back memories of the rich democratic tradition that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s inside South Africa. Many of those who have been on the witness stand for the reopened inquest have included Aggett's fellow detainees and anti-apartheid activists in the 1980s. Many of them have a personal connection to Wits University, including Barbara Hogan, Auret van Heerden, Clive van Heerden, Keith Coleman, Ismael Momoniat, Maurice Smithers, Cedric De Beer, Hannchen Koornhof, and Firoz Cachalia (a former student and now also law professor at Wits). Ï remember the occasion of their detention in 1981 well, as Clive, Keith and Firoz were all students in my Honours class at the time. Suddenly, nearly half my Honours class disappeared, detained under the frightening Terrorism Act. But it was a turning point for anti-apartheid activists as it mobilised their parents – Max and Audrey Coleman as well as Firoz's father, dr Cachalia. The Colemans formed the courageous and inclusive Detainee Parents Support Committee (DPSC). I recall vividly a visit after Keith's detention from a visibly angry Coleman, who indicated clearly that they were 100 per cent behind their son and would not rest until he was released. They went on to play an active role in the struggle against detention without trial, mobilising parents across the country. My reason for publishing this lecture is not only to enter the debate on how and why Aggett died but also to reflect on the legacy of the democratic left in South Africa. Democracy is, as Michelle Williams argued in her inaugural lecture, a contested concept (Williams 2021). It is a contest between two types of democracy. The one is narrow, where the state resists popular forces, ensuring that power is in the hands of the political and economic elite. This she called 'market democracy'. In the other, the state protects society from the market and facilitates democratic deepening by creating...