Â鶹APP

Flag of South Africa. Flag design by Frederick Brownell, image by

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Chris Hani

Chris Hani who was born as Martin Thembisile Hani SSA, SBS, CLS, DMG, MMS was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC).

He was a fierce opponent of the apartheid government and was assassinated by Janusz WaluÅ›, a Polish immigrant and sympathiser of the Conservative opposition on 10 April 1993, during the unrest preceding the transition to democracy.

Let’s take a look at some of the most amazing facts about him;

1. Hani was born in 1942 in Xhosa village, Cofimvaba, Transkei, South Africa 

Thembisile Hani was born on 28 June 1942 in the Xhosa village in Cofimvaba, Transkei. He was the fifth of six children. He attended Lovedale school in 1957, to finish his last two years. He twice finished two school grades in a single year.

When Hani was 12 years old, after hearing his father’s explanations about apartheid and the African National Congress, he wished to join the ANC but was still too young to be accepted. 

2. He joined the ANC youth league aged 15 during his days at Lovedale school

In Lovedale school, Hani joined the ANC Youth League when he was 15 years old, even though political activities were not allowed at black schools under apartheid. He influenced other students to join the ANC.

In 1959, at the University of Fort Hare in Alice, Eastern Cape, Hani studied English, Latin and modern and classical literature. He did not participate in any sport, saying “I would rather fight apartheid than play sport”.

3. He changed his first name to Chris when the government after him

After graduation, he joined Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC. Following his arrest under the Suppression of Communism Act, he went into exile in Lesotho in 1963. He was active to the extent that he became a thorn in the flesh of the South African government.

Because of Hani’s involvement with Umkhonto we Sizwe, he was forced into hiding by the South African government during which time he changed his first name Thembisile to Chris, to evade the government agents. He was later arrested and after his release, under the Suppression of Communism Act, he went into exile in Lesotho in 1963.

4. He received military training in the Soviet Union 

Hani received military training in the Soviet Union when a critical lifeline was offered by the Soviet Union, which provided financial support and extensive military training to hundreds of MK cadres, including Hani (as detailed at length in Vladimir Shubin’s book, ANC – A View From Moscow’).

Tanzania and Zambia, which gained their independence from Britain in 1961 and 1964 respectively, allowed the ANC and MK to set up bases in their newly liberated territories, and Hani was involved in setting up the first military camps of South African liberation fighters.

5. Chris strongly believed in the peace process

Although he had been a military man for nearly thirty years, Chris strongly believed in the peace process. He understood only too well that the revolutionary forces were not strong enough to defeat the South African state outright.

He also understood that the combination of armed and mass struggle, described by Nelson Mandela as the liberation movement’s hammer and anvil, could together force a negotiated solution which would move the overall freedom struggle many important steps forward.

6. Chris was a relentless voice for the poor and oppressed

Chris was a relentless voice for the poor and oppressed, a legend of the struggle, a man of the people who had the confidence and support of the radical youth. As Nelson Mandela wrote in his autobiography: “He was a great hero among the youth of South Africa, a man who spoke their language and to whom they listened.”

“South Africa was now deprived of one of its greatest sons, a man who would have been invaluable in transforming the country into a new nation.” Mandela’s moving words at Hani’s funeral perhaps indicate the type of man that the world lost on 10 April 1993.

7. Several people were arrested after his assassination 

Hani was assassinated by Polish immigrant Janusz Walus for reasons known best to him, though there are several conspiracies about his reasons. After Hani’s death, several people were arrested, tested in court and given life prison sentences. 

These people include; Janusz WaluÅ› who was the murderer and Clive Derby-Lewis, the Shadow Minister for Economic Affairs for the Conservative Party of South Africa at the time. Clive Derby lewis’ wife was also arrested and tested though she was later released.

8. His assassination led to several riots

His assassination led to several riots. The riots broke out in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth due to the climax of tension between the extreme left and far right. Starting as a racial and political movement, youth activist groups escalated the demonstration leading to seven casualties, including three casualties as a result of police fire.

Additionally, it is estimated that over 6 million black workers engaged in a one-day strike to commemorate Chris Hani on 15 April 1993. This mass disruption persuaded a decision for a democratic election to take place on 27 April 1994.

9. He was married to Limpho and had four children

Hani was married to Limpho and had four children, two from his first relationship and two from his wife Limpho. Tunisia was Hani’s firstborn, followed by Vanessa both from the first relationship. The late Nomakhwezi, and Lindiwe both from his marriage. 

His wife Limpho, was among the first democratically-elected parliamentarians after the 1994 elections. His daughter Nomakhwezi who witnessed his assassination also died under unclear circumstances.

10. Hani was shot in 1993 and died on the spot outside his home in Dawn Park

Chris Hani was assassinated on 10 April 1993 outside his home in Dawn Park, a racially mixed suburb of Boksburg. He was accosted by a Polish far-right anti-communist immigrant named Janusz WaluÅ›, who shot him as he stepped out of his car.

WaluÅ› fled the scene but was soon arrested after Margareta Harmse, a white Afrikaner housewife, saw Walus straight after the crime as she was driving past, and called the police. A neighbour of Hani also witnessed the crime and later identified both Walus, and the vehicle he was driving at the time.

He is renowned as South Africa’s statesman for his sacrifices for the country and is only behind only Nelson Mandela as founders of the nation.