Publication: Cape Argus
Issued:
Date: 2007-06-19
Reporter:
Mac Maharaj was a powerful force in the struggle for liberation. He was tortured
by security forces and imprisoned on Robben Island along with Nelson Mandela,
Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada and many others. Instrumental in organising the
ANC underground, Maharaj lived much of his life in the secretive world of spies
and subterfuge.
He retired from politics to focus on rebuilding his
life. But in the 1990s he was persuaded to return, by Mandela, to assist in the
negotiation process. Then, a dramatic reversal of
fortune, in 2003, left Maharaj tainted by
allegations of kickbacks and corruption, with links
to KZN's now infamous Shaik brothers.
He is
argumentative, ferociously intelligent and fiercely opinionated and now, with
his reputation irretrievably shattered and his
already fraught relationship with Mbeki in tatters, he is trying to pick up the
pieces and has recently collaborated on a biography of his life.
With acknowledgement to Cape Argus.