Hani: A Life Too Short by Beauregard Tromp and Janet Smith

Loading player...
Chris Hani’s assassination in 1993 gave rise to one of South Africa’s greatest political questions: if he had survived, what impact would he have had on the ANC government?

On the 30th anniversary of his murder by right-wing fanatics, this updated version of the best-selling Hani: A Life Too Short reevaluates his legacy and traces his life from his childhood in rural Transkei to the crisis in the ANC camps in Angola in the 1980s and the heady dawn of South Africa’s freedom.

Drawing on interviews and the recollections of those who knew him, this vividly written book provides a detailed account of the life of a hero of South Africa’s liberation, a communist party leader and Umkhonto we Sizwe chief of staff, who was both an intellectual and a fighter.

In this episode of Pagecast, CapeTalk presenter and journalist Lester Kiewit chats with Janet and Beauregard regarding this best-seller.

About the authors:

JANET SMITH is a former newspaper editor and the author of Patrice Motsepe. She was also a co-author of The Coming Revolution: Julius Malema and the Fight for Economic Freedom and The Black Consciousness Reader. Award-winning journalist

BEAUREGARD TROMP is the Africa editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. He has also worked for the Mail & Guardian and The Star newspaper.
10 Apr 2023 English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

There's Something I Must Tell You by Sue Williamson (with Penny Siopis)

"The sweep of it, seeing all those years, is quite extraordinary for an artist." Internationally renowned South African artist Penny Siopis sits down with Sue Williamson for a wide-ranging conversation on her new book There's Something I Must Tell You, published to accompany her landmark retrospective at the Iziko South…
5 Oct 21 min

Kitsie: Memoir of a Bomb-Squad Bok by Steven Kitshoff (with Nick Mallett)

"There was a job to be done." Legendary Springbok coach Nick Mallett sits down with former Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff for a rich, generous conversation on his new memoir Kitsie: Memoir of a Bomb-Squad Bok. They unpack the origins of the Bomb Squad — the name that came from a…
23 Sep 29 min

The South African Cookbook by Nokx Majozi (with Zola Nene)

"An opportunity to hold and be held." This one is a joy from start to finish. Chef, food stylist and best-selling cookbook author Zola Nene sits down with Chef Nokx Majozi for a conversation that feels less like an interview and more like two sisters at the kitchen table. Together…
14 Sep 36 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Athi-Patra Ruga and Lethogonolo Mokogroane in conversation

For the final episode of Pagecast at the 2026 Open Book Festival, Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane is joined by Athi-Patra Ruga. Athi-Patra Ruga is a South African multidisciplinary artist whose work explores archives, spirituality, colonial histories and speculative world-building across performance, film, tapestry, sculpture and installation. He is also the co-founder of…
6 Sep 11 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Natalie Sifuma and Alma-Nalisha Cele in conversation

Natalie Sifuma is a Kenyan writer, researcher, and consultant currently based in Cape Town. She is the founder of Sisters in Climate — a Pan-African climate initiative — and is completing an MPhil in Inclusive Innovation at UCT’s Graduate School of Business, with a focus on social impact, climate, and…
6 Sep 11 min