South African Elections - results

Table from the official IEC website. (click to enlarge) Turnout is very high - over 80% in some provinces.

The ANC (top of table) on the edge of that critical 66% needed to change the constitution unilaterally. The old Afrikaaner die-hards (bottom of table) can barely pull 1% of the total vote - of course until 1994 when only people like them could vote their policies were in the electoral majority. It appears 99% of the South African population has moved on. What's the "plus" element of the Vryheidsfront Plus anyway? Even more racist than before! Are they promising Apartheid Plus? It was bad enough as Apartheid Klaasik v.1985 despite what the now disillusioned Ismail Ryklieff (literally a casualty of Apartheid) might confess to Mike McRoberts.

TV3's roving Anchor must have watched the notorious "Trojan Horse" massacre on TV as a youth as I did to have made this outrage the central part of his excellent report the other day. I must have been 11 when I watched that on the news and it was something I will never forget. Of all the evil ever televised from Apartheid-era South Africa - pass books, segregation paraphernalia, dogs, necklacing, curfews, sjamboks etc. - the worst was that event.

A large truck goes down a street where vehicles had been reported attacked by people who are protesting, mainly kids, in this black or coloured suburban zone. Protesting no doubt about the existence of these zones and the division of the county by the Afrikaaners). The TV report at the time explained that it goes through unmolested. It then returns after going around the block to drive through again and the people on the street (because of the fact it had returned was given as a possible reason) start throwing stones at it. As soon as the second stone hit the truck, out from the top of the deck appear about a dozen police who start shooting immediately with shotguns into the dozens of children and people in the vicinity. Shooting at everything that moved with shotguns until they had no ammunition left. A police provocation, ambush and massacre. And then I think they just drove off... leaving three dead and numerous wounded - I've just looked at that site, one of those killed was 11. Horrifying. No wonder it made such a lasting impression. White people shooting coloured and black children in the name of the government - and a great many white New Zealanders at the time supported recognising and normalising relations with that government and even more supported hosting their rugby teams. From that site:

There was an inquest into the incident in March 1988, at which the magistrate ruled that the actions of the police were unreasonable, and the 13 men were found responsible for the deaths. The case was then referred to the Attorney General of the Cape who refused to prosecute. The family of the deceased made South African legal history by launching their own private prosecution. They were however unsuccessful and the thirteen men in question were acquitted in December 1989.

Nelson Mandela walked free from prison after more than 27 years inside, just two months later. These scum never served a day.

I'm sure Mike must have seen it at the time, and felt the same I do the way he told it, but he's too old school to indulge in any personal story-telling on network news.

I find it ironic that South Africa was the only large country in the world to go straight to colour TV without ever having black and white.

South Africa Tubemeke in the sidebar.