Clive Derby-Lewis
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| Clive Derby-Lewis | |
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State President's Council
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| In office September 1989 – April 1993 |
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| Leader | F. W. De Klerk |
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| In office 1987 – 1993 |
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| Leader | Andries Treurnicht |
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| Born | January 22, 1936 Cape Town South Africa |
Clive John Derby Lewis was born on 22 January 1936 in Cape Town, and was a South African parliamentarian, first in the National Party and then in the Conservative Party. He is serving a life sentence for his role in the assassination of Chris Hani. He has been described as a "right-wing extremist" by the Daily Telegraph.[1]
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[edit] Background
Derby-Lewis, in spite of his name, insists that he is "an Afrikaner, but with German and Scots ancestry." [2]
He was educated at Christian Brothers' College and was a minister at Blessed Sacrament Church in Johannesburg before he left the Catholic church in the early 1980s. He later joined the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk, notable as a staunch supporter of Apartheid.[3]
He was a volunteer for nineteen years in the South African Citizen Force and became the youngest ever commanding officer of the Witwatersrand Rifles Regiment, which was affiliated to the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). He was awarded the John Chard medal for long and meritorious service.
[edit] Community and Political History
He joined the National Party and became a town councillor for Bedfordview (1972-1977), Deputy Mayor (1973-1974) and then Mayor (1974-1975), and was made a Freeman of the Johannesburg Mini-Council. He served as the member representing Edenvale, Gauteng, on the Transvaal Provincial Council (1972-1981) where he was for several years the National Party spokesman on Education and Hospital Services. In addition he served on the boards of numerous other bodies including hospitals, primary and high schools, and a school for retarded children.
In 1987, Derby-Lewis hosted a public meeting held in Johannesburg by Holocaust denier David Irving.
[edit] Parliamentary History
He was a founder member of the Conservative Party when it split from the National Party in 1982 over what was perceived by Derby-Lewis and others as a softening of the government's apartheid policies of racial segregation and discrimination. He was a member of the new party's General Council and Parliamentary Caucus until 1993. He also served on the Transvaal Party Council as well as on that council's Information and Financial Committee.
Derby-Lewis was nominated as a Member of Parliament in 1987 (after the then constitution allowed for political parties to nominate members in addition to their elected representatives). This occurred after he was unsuccessful in his election bid in the Krugersdorp constituency. He served on the following parliamentary groups:
- Economic Affairs & Technology (including Mineral Affairs);
- Administration and Privatization;
- Finance;
- Foreign Affairs;
- Home Affairs.
He also represented the Conservative Party on the Standing Committees of Parliament dealing with the Provincial Affairs of Natal, and Trade and Commerce.
When the Conservative Party became the Official Opposition he was appointed Chief Spokesman on Economic Affairs, Technology, and Mineral Affairs. He was the only member of the Conservative Party Parliamentary Caucus to have served in all four levels of government in South Africa.
In September 1989 he was formally appointed to the State President's Council, where he served on the Economic Affairs and the Amenities Committees.[4]
He visited London twice in an official Conservative Party delegation, including that of June 1989, which included their leader, Dr.Andries Treurnicht and Natal party chief Carl Werth. About that time he joined the London-based Western Goals Institute as an honorary Vice-President, and was one of their delegation to the 22nd World Anti-Communist League Conference in Brussels in July 1990.
[edit] Assassination of Chris Hani
Derby-Lewis was arrested for aiding and abetting a Polish anti-communist immigrant to South Africa, Janusz Walus, in the assassination (10th April 1993) of Chris Hani, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party and leader of the African National Congress' military wing. Derby-Lewis had loaned the gun used in the assassination to Walus. An alleged hit list of senior ANC and South African Communist Party figures had been developed by Derby-Lewis and his wife and included Nelson Mandela and Joe Slovo at numbers one and two. Hani was number three on the list.
Derby-Lewis was convicted of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to death for his role in the assassination. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment when capital punishment was outlawed in 1995. Derby-Lewis confessed his role in the assassination in his application to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for amnesty and testified that the assassination was encouraged or sanctioned by senior leaders of the Conservative Party.[5] In his defence, Derby-Lewis said that he was acting "in defence of my people, who were threatened with a Communist take-over."[2] He added that his Christian faith within the Afrikaanse Protestant Church was central to his decision: "As a Christian, my first duty is to the Almighty God before everything else. We were fighting against communism, and communism is the vehicle of the Antichrist."[3]
The application was denied in April 1999. In 2000, the Cape High Court dismissed an application by Derby-Lewis and Walus to overturn the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's decision.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Russell, Alec. "Apartheid's assassins appeal for amnesty", 12 August 1997.
- ^ a b Frontline
- ^ a b National Catholic Reporter
- ^ Curriculum Vitae of Derby-Lewis, Former Western Goals Institute archives, 28 May 1990
- ^ "Right-wing party behind S.A. killing", BBC, 4 December, 1997.
- ^ Kemp, Arthur. The Death of Chris Hani: An African misadventure. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
