It is difficult to talk dispassionately about the dead, especially when they are freshly departed. FW de Klerk has made it more difficult.

The last apartheid president, who also played a key role in bringing about the system’s demise, decided to address the nation on his legacy, through a recorded valedictory. By addressing us post-mortem De Klerk was, perhaps inadvertently, inviting citizens to appraise him on his role in our country’s history of blood and greed...