The work was conceived over a number of years, and it relates to the manner in which African leaders govern their countries after independence. Its main focus is on the South African politics under apartheid, where racism and racial segregation was the order of the day and where white supremacy implied black inferiority. It looks at a number of issues, including humiliation and brutality, that led to the United Nations declaring apartheid as crime against humanity. It focuses on the processes leading to the build-up of pressures that forced the racist government to accede to the demands of the international community and also bow to internal pressures, which were exerted by the South African people themselves. This book is written by a comrade who grew up in the township of Clermont, a student of politics under the tutelage of Archie Gumede, a man who rubbed shoulders with radicals such as Patrick Terror Lekota and Diliza Mji amongst others, and a staunch Catholic whose wedding was conducted by Archbishop Denis Hurley. Skhumbuzo Letlaka is a product of a township struggle, stay-aways, consumer boycotts, strikes, school boycotts, street committees and their tight discipline, kangaroo courts, and the application of the Mandela Plan.
