PW Botha - The great crocodile

Moments in South African History

PW Botha personified apartheid and the old National Party for most South Africans. For eleven years between 1978 and 1989, he ruled the country as prime minister and then president with a wagging index-finger, two States of Emergency and his repressive security forces. Although Botha introduced limited reforms, he failed to cross his own Rubicon by not abolishing apartheid.

Credits: Angie Kapelianis, Anita Visser and the SABC Media Libraries.

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