The Plot to Save South Africa

The Week Mandela Averted Civil War and Forged a New Nation

By: Justice Malala

Narrated by: Nick Boraine, Justice Malala

A “gripping and important” (The Guardian) account of nine tumultuous days, as the assassination of Nelson Mandela’s protégé by a white supremacist threatens to derail South Africa’s democratic transition and plunge the nation into civil war.

Johannesburg, Easter weekend, 1993. Nelson Mandela had been released after twenty-seven years in prison and was in power sharing talks with President F.W. de Klerk. After decades of resistance, the apartheid regime seemed poised to fall…until a white supremacist shot and killed Mandela’s popular heir apparent, Chris Hani, in a last desperate attempt to provoke civil war.

Twenty-two-year-old rookie journalist Justice Malala was one of the first people at the crime scene. And as he covered the growing chaos of the next nine days—the protests and police brutality, reprisal killings and calls for paramilitary units to get combat-ready—he was terrified the assassin’s plot might succeed.

In The Plot to Save South Africa, Malala “masterfully” (Foreign Affairs) unspools this political history in the style of a thriller, alternating between the perspectives of participants across the political spectrum in a riveting, kaleidoscopic account of a country on the brink. Through vivid archival research and shocking original interviews, he digs into questions that were never fully answered in all the tumult at the time: How involved were far-right elements within the South African government in inciting—or even planning—the assassination? And as the time bomb ticked on, how did these political rivals work together with opponents whose ideology they’d long abhorred—despite provocation and their own failures, doubts, and fears—to keep their country from descending into civil war?

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Justice Malala. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"This is a dramatic work of history, prodigiously reported and beautifully crafted. Justice Malala is a first-rate storyteller, deftly weaving history with a narrative that reads like a novel. I couldn’t put it down." —Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of King: A Life

"Fast-paced, gripping, and expertly crafted, this book reads like a political thriller. A brilliant, moving, and extraordinary account of nine days that shaped a country and a continent, with the entire world looking on."
—Toluse Olorunnipa, coauthor of His Name Is George Floyd

"Malala is one of a group of outstanding South African journalists who came of age around the birth of democracy…. The Plot to Save South Africa wonderfully captures the spirit of that time." —Financial Times

Very Educational!

Title: The Plot to Save South Africa
Author: Justice Malala
Release Date: April 4th, 2023
Page Count: 344
Format: Netgalley and Audiobook
Start Date: April 9th, 2023
Finish Date: April 10th, 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

When I first got this book, I was eager to read it. I am always wanting to learn as much about history and other countries as I can. I did have concerns about it going over my head. I was convinced I'd have to do a lot of research and ask a friend of mine many questions to fully understand. I was wrong. This book was very easy to follow along and understand. I actually hope to read it again to make notes and annotations on parts that really jump out at me. I do recommend this book to anybody that has an interest in history and nonfiction books. It's really good and well worth the read.

Important to Note: Nonfiction. Violence. Real World Issues.

Outstanding

As a white South African who lived through this time, this filled in so many gaps of what I knew at the time. It is desperately sad that it takes the loss of so many lives to force change; change that is purely to recognize the humanity of each individual. Ubuntu. Where has it gone?
Thank you, Mr. Malala, for this excellent reconstruction of the most pivotal time in modern day life. I wish the current world forces would take more notice.