RaDical MiDDle - ColdType

198 | denis beckett
attached a diverse range of cuttings referring to Inkatha as
“thugs” or worse. Some quoted famous wrong libel judgments
– Liberace getting damages for “homosexual”, before he came
out of the closet; Lloyd George for “adultery”, later proven.
None of this made me the “winner” but it did tell me that many
people were as bamboozled as I was.
also, I had echoes of some feedback that went to Buthelezi,
including a backer dropping him and an ally leaving him. I
don’t believe his “victory” brought him joy. a while later, when
he broke down at a much-publicised prayer meeting and wept
about his conscience, I was much urged, not always tongue-incheek,
to assure him that if returning my money would ease his
conscience he should feel free. That was an idea I did not take up.
But I did believe there was an error in play and I drafted a long
earnest letter to the chief Justice to say so.
I knew this was an unorthodox route. I’d taken some of those
before, but this time, at the last minute, doubts arose. I went to
see my former boss Judge Nick Nicholas.
Nick had given me lots of firm counsel, mainly twenty years
ago when I drafted reviews for him. This time he surpassed
himself. He asked why the decision was wrong. I said: obvious,
look at any newspaper. He asked why two courts would reach
a wrong decision. I said: obvious, Buthelezi is the white
establishment’s favourite Black.
Half a hour later, in relief, I tore up my letter and dropped
the scraps in a bin at the bottom of Nick’s hill.
Point one, paraphrased from Nick’s meticulous wording
and consummate elocution, was that if I thought either of
these courts would let a political sentiment intrude on their
interpretation of the law, I was out of my tiny mind.
Point two was that even if the chief Justice had a blinding
revelation with fiery chariots, there was nought he could do.
The highest court had spoken, and it could not unspeak.
Point three was that whatever the newspapers may say, the
judges judged on evidence, and the evidence we had led was of
a couple of guys being slapped around a bit.