Ideas Was justice served by South Africa's peace accord?
Sep 22, 2025
Prakash Diar, a human rights lawyer, and Kagiso Lesego Molope, a talented novelist and playwright, share their profound perspectives on South Africa's tumultuous past. They reflect on their youthful activism during apartheid and the transformative yet incomplete National Peace Accord. The duo tackles the deep pains of justice versus peace, highlighting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s cultural mismatches. They emphasize the necessity for systemic change and echo crucial lessons for reconciliation in other nations.
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Stranger's Risked Presence
- Kagiso Lesego Molope recalls a German woman sleeping on her bedroom floor during apartheid who risked arrest to protect her family.
- That small act taught her that peace sometimes requires personal risk and solidarity across differences.
Client's Final Concern
- Prakash Diar describes a detained client asking if his mother would be okay while facing execution, showing trauma's human side.
- That moment convinced him peace must include dignity, not just absence of violence.
World's Gaze Increased Pressure On Locals
- Kagiso Lesego Molope reflects on global expectations that South Africans avoid a violent transition and how that pressured Black communities.
- She says media often framed Black people as violent, adding unfair burden to secure peace.
