A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Story

Pumla Gobodo-Madikezela talked about her book “A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Story of Forgiveness", published by Houghton Mifflin Co. Ms. Gobodo-Madikizela, who grew up in a black South African township, is the only psychologist to have served on that country’s the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She had many conversations with Eugene de Kock, the former commanding officer of the apartheid police squads. De Koch, whose nicknames include "Dr. Death” and “Prime Evil,” is currently serving 212 years in prison for crimes against humanity. Much of the book is set during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings, during which both the perpetrators and their victims were given the right to be heard. Ms. Gobodo-Madikizela suggests that the TRC hearings may not have produced complete reconciliation, but the validation the victims received and the absolution they subsequently offered was therapeutic and necessary for the creation of the new democracy. close