WE DEMAND THAT FOR CLIVE - NOW!!!

Freedom for Clive Derby-Lewis Committee

P.O. Box 690

Rayton

1001

Fax: 086 577 3041

7 October 2010

The President of the Republic of South-Africa

Mr. Jacob Zuma

Fax: 012 323 3231

cc. Embassies of other nations to South-Africa

cc. The media

Dear President Zuma,

“SOUTH AFRICA” - OR: WHERE SOME ARE “MORE EQUAL” THAN OTHERS: THE CASE OF CLIVE DERBY-LEWIS

1.       In May 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first President of “ a new South Africa” which would supposedly be “non-racial”, “non-sexist” and free of any discrimination of any kind whatsoever. Few, if any, new governments took office in such a spirit of international euphoria.

2.       The very first section of it’s Constitution states that South Africa is “a democracy founded on…human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms…”

3.       Sixteen years down the line under ANC-rule, South Africa is a country plagued by murder; rape; corruption; incompetent administration; unemployment; poverty; disease and a host of other evils. An objective observer cannot but label the hypocritic utterances in the Constitution as tragic jokes.

4.       The very different destinies of two South African men making news-headlines is a case in point.

5.       On the one hand there is Shabir Shaik; during Apartheid an engineering-student (so much for the despised system of “Bantu education”) and, in later years, the businessman closely involved with the ANC. In 2005, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on counts of fraud and corruption for his role in the multi-billion Rand deal to procure arms for poverty-stricken South Africa. After a mere two years of incarceration, the public learned that Shaik is free again; being released as a “terminally ill” man. Shortly afterwards, this same “terminally ill” man was photographed with his luxurious BMW doing shopping; playing golf; and indulging in other niceties of life. The applicable denial, followed by “settling of the dust and forever-after-hold-your-peace”, was the only result.

6.       On the other hand we have Clive Derby-Lewis, during Apartheid a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party and jailed since 1993 as an accomplice in the murder of Chris Hani (the erstwhile Secretary-General of the South African Communist Party). During his 17 years in prison (and counting), Derby-Lewis has seen countless criminals who were convicted of the most serious crimes - including murder - walk out of prison as free men; either released during the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”-proceedings; released by Presidential Pardon; or released on parole.

7.       Each and every one of these countless freed men seems to be “more equal” than Prisoner Derby-Lewis who, sick and impoverished at the age of 74, must rely on an attorney who would work free of charge; bringing urgent High Court-applications just to get Derby-Lewis in hospital for life-saving operations.

8.       Derby-Lewis’s own application for release at the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” failed during the 90’s, on the pretext that he “did not act with a political motive nor made a full disclosure”. The hypocricy and malicious intent of this so-called “Truth- and Reconciliation Commission” could not be demonstrated more clearly than by it’s absurd ruling that Derby-Lewis did not have a “political motive” for his involvement in the Hani-matter.

9.       What else could the motive be? A personal feud? Definitely not, as the two - one a black Communist and the other a white Conservative - did not even know each other on a personal level.

10.    What else? Material gain? Negative again - not even a needle was stolen from the murder-scene.

11.    Fact of the matter is that both these men were professional politicians in a state closely resembling civil war; and without Hani’s political profile, Derby-Lewis would not even have been aware of his existence. Only seriously malicious minds could have come to the “non-political motive” conclusion.

12.    As for the so-called “lack of a full disclosure”, the only “revelation” this has led to is the recent (somewhat embarrassing) explanation for the absence of Hani’s guards on the day of his murder: Hani himself wanted them out of the way in order to be private with his mistress. With all fairness and respect - what could be so important for Derby-Lewis to be kept hidden, that he would rot away in prison during the twilight years of his life rather than making a “disclosure”? It is just as RIDICULOUS an assumption, as the “non-political motive” allegation.

13.    In 2003, Derby-Lewis applied for Presidential Pardon. HE WAS NOT EVEN GRANTED THE COURTESY OF AN ANSWER in this “democracy founded on human dignity, equality and human rights and freedoms”.

14.    In terms of Sections 73 and 78 of the Correctional Services Act, No. 111 of 1998, a person sentenced to life imprisonment may be placed on parole on reaching the age of 65 years if he has served 15 years of such sentence. During 2008, Derby-Lewis qualified and duly applied; and even though his parole was recommended by the Parole Board, he was turned down yet again during the final stages of the parole-process in this “democracy founded on human dignity, equality and human rights and freedoms”.

15.    Currently, Clive Derby-Lewis suffers from gangrene which was neglected by prison-officials to such an extent that he may lose his leg.

16.    Derby-Lewis also suffers from critically high blood-pressure. Furthermore, the sores on his face were medically examined and found to be aggressively cancerous; so deep that it bleeds spontaneously after having been neglected for years.

17.    WE, THE PEOPLE whom Clive Derby-Lewis served during his whole life and for whom he sacrificed everything – WE CAN NOT AND WILL NOT TURN OUR HEADS AWAY WHILE HE IS BEING TRAMPLED UPON in this so-called “democracy founded on human dignity, equality and human rights and freedoms”. If Clive Derby-Lewis should die in prison, his martyrdom shall stand with thousands of other martyrdoms as a symbol of our oppression, and it shall reverberate through decades to come.                      

18.    In terms of Section 82 of the Correctional Services Act, the President of South Africa may at any time authorise the placement on…parole of any sentenced prisoner and he also may remit any part of a prisoner’s sentence.

                                     WE DEMAND THAT FOR CLIVE - NOW!!!

- Freedom for Clive Derby-Lewis Committee (FCC)