The Man who Killed Apartheid: The Life of Dimitri Tsafendas

Download or read book The Man who Killed Apartheid: The Life of Dimitri Tsafendas written by Harris Dousemetzis and published by Vernon Press. This book was released on 2023-01-10 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 6 September 1966, inside the House of Assembly in Cape Town, Dimitri Tsafendas fatally stabbed Hendrik Verwoerd, South Africa’s Prime Minister and so-called “architect of apartheid.” Tsafendas was immediately arrested, and before the authorities had even questioned him, they declared him a madman without any political motive for the killing. In the Cape Supreme Court, Tsafendas was found unfit to stand trial on the grounds that he suffered from schizophrenia and that he had no political motive for killing Verwoerd. Tsafendas spent the next 28 years in prison, making him the longest-serving prisoner in South African history. For most of his incarceration, he was subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment by the prison authorities. This new updated edition contains all the developments regarding the Tsafendas case after the publication of the book's first edition.