Author risked torture to fight Apartheid

An author has recounted how he risked torture to smuggle literature into South Africa that helped campaign against Apartheid.

The racist political system which governed South African life from 1948 to 1991 ensured privilege for white South Africans and saw the black population treated extremely harshly.

Ken Keable, from Stoke-sub-Hamdon in Somerset, was recruited to campaign on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC) and said: "The racism there was so hideous and so unjust, it couldn't last."

The book he wrote about his campaign has now been adapted into a film that is being screened in cinemas around the country.

Mr Keable was recruited by members of the Communist Party in London, who were working with the ANC to find people who would not arouse suspicion.

"I was approached by the London secretary when I was 23 and he said 'are you prepared to do something illegal?'," he told BBC Radio Somerset.

"I was a bit surprised, but I said yes and we had a cautious conversation about it, and I was asked to go to South Africa and do some things."

In 1968, Mr Keable smuggled 1,200 letters addressed to the Indian community into the country, using a suitcase with a false bottom.

Once inside South Africa, he posted the letters so they appeared to come from inside the country.

His second mission, in 1970, involved a visit to Durban, where he set up several devices called leaflet bombs, which were timed to send hundreds of leaflets showering into the sky.

"At the same time, we set up loudspeaker broadcasts in the street, which were timed to go off at the same time as the leaflet bombs.

"We didn't know at the time it was being done at five cities simultaneously, and it made headlines in South Africa.

"Despite Nelson Mandela being in jail, the ANC was still alive and kicking and it made an impact," Mr Keable said.

Mr Keable said he was told what might happen if he was caught, and that he would be tortured.

"I wasn't afraid. It was a brilliant idea to recruit people like me who were able to do this work.

"The authorities were on the lookout for ANC people re-entering the country, they weren't going to be looking out for white people like me with no connection to South Africa who weren't known to the authorities.

"It was just obvious in the way people behaved towards each other that it was an unjust society," he said.

In 2012, Mr Keable wrote a book about his campaign, entitled London Recruits. The recent film adaptation has already been screened in several independent cinemas.

"There's a lot of racism around these days and politicians are using racism to meet their ends so it's always topical," he said.

"Our activities showed that ordinary people can make a difference, they can take part and change the course of history."

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