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? And could this charismatic man have risen to become president of the country?

In the 30th anniversary year of his murder by right-wing fanatics, this updated version of the seminal biography of Hani re-evaluates his legacy and traces his life from childhood in rural Transkei to the crisis in the ANC camps in the 1980s and the perilous last 36 months he spent back home rallying for South Africa's freedom.

Drawing on interviews with those who knew him, this vividly written book provides a detailed account of the life of a hero of South Africa's liberation, who was both an intellectual and a fighter.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Janet Smith is a former newspaper editor and the author of Patrice Motsepe: An Appetite for Disruption. She is also a co-author of The Coming Revolution: Julius Malema and the Fight for Economic Freedom and The Black Consciousness Reader, among other titles.

Award-winning journalist Beauregard Tromp is the Africa editor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. He was deputy editor at the Mail & Guardian and Africa correspondent for The Star.

Hani: A Life Too Short (Updated with new epilogue) is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers