The assassin Janusz Walus and his accomplice Clive Derby-Lewis admitted during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that they murdered Hani and their intent was to provoke a race war and derail the negotiation process that would inevitably lead to the end of white minority rule.
It was Nelson Mandela who addressed the nation in his capacity as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) and appealed to the nation to use Hani’s death to affirm his views of peace and a united democratic South Africa for which he fought.
Mandela’s speech helped to keep in check Black anger that could have spilled out after the murder.
In his own words “Now is the time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for – the freedom of all of us…"
