Paul Trewhela
Jacana. R162

Inside Quatro is a well-written, well- researched book on the human rights abuses within the African National Congress (ANC) and South West African People's Organisation (Swapo) during the ¬exile years. It is based on a series of essays that was first published in Searchlight South Africa, a publication that was banned in South Africa. The book focuses on specific incidents, such as the mutiny in Umkhonto we Sizwe in Angola in 1984, the ANC's notorious Quatro prison camp, the suspicious deaths of certain ANC cadres and the disappearance of key Swapo members. Wars are ugly. No matter how ¬righteous the cause, there is always a dark side and with victory comes sanitised versions of what went on. The ANC's submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission claimed that errors were made and that what happened at its prison camps were the actions of an undisciplined minority. Trewhela's research uncovers a lot more and raises questions about the roles of leaders such as Chris Hani, Joe Modise, Jacob Zuma and Oliver Tambo. An excuse that is becoming all too familiar is, 'we did not know'. Trewhela's painstaking research raises questions on how these leaders could not have known.
- Nalini Naidoo