Hennie van Vuuren: author and social justice activist

Abstract

Hendrik (Hennie) van Vuuren's life and work have been characterised by a refusal to accept the dominant self-serving narratives of both apartheid-era and post-apartheid elites. His writing and activism reflect a consistent defiance of efforts to paint a rosy picture of clean governance under white rule (despite the unavoidable truth of its deeper moral corruption). Notably, he has sought to challenge the persistent myth among white South Africans that the country has been plunged into systemic corruption only in the democratic era of 'black' rule. Equally, he has defied efforts by successive democratically elected administrations to deny or cover up maladministration and large-scale corruption, starting with the democratic government's 'original sin' of the notorious arms deal of the late 1990s and echoed in the recent era of state capture. Van Vuuren was born in Klerksdorp in 1974. After matriculating, he obtained a BA in African political studies and international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, followed by an honours degree in African political studies in 1997. During his time at Wits, he was president of the Student Representative Council, after which he served as national president of the South African Liberal Students' Association. In 1998, he was granted an academic scholarship by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom to read for his MA degree in political studies at the Free University in Berlin, which he was awarded cum laude in 2000.