A TWO-BOOK series about Andrew Zondo has been written by an author who aims to provide details previously unknown about the Amanzimtoti bomber who was executed in 1986.

ALSO READ: Health council rejects ethics claim against Toti bombing doctor

Robert Wood said after reading the books, the reader will be wiser and better informed. The first book is called Out Of Anger – Andrew Zondo: Amanzimtoti Bomber – Apartheid History In South Africa, and the second one is titled Aftershock – Andrew Zondo: Amanzimtoti Bomber – Apartheid History In South Africa. The books are well-researched and take the reader from the very beginning through the events that led to that fateful day on December 23, 1985, when Zondo, an Umkhonto weSizwe member, detonated a bomb at a shopping centre in Amanzimtoti. Part one starts at the very beginning and ends when Zondo is hanged on September 9, 1986. Part two deals with the consequences of his actions, and events that follow.

“The books are compelling enough. For the open-minded, they will certainly see things in a diff erent light,” he said.

While there have been books published about Zondo before, Wood said inadequate research has led to a lot of information being bypassed.

“My books explain things far better, and take the reader into the motives of characters, and puts things into context. If you think you know it all, you don’t. My approach has been to write events as they were without an author’s intervention and take the reader on a journey. As such, it’s not for sensitive readers.”

Wood’s father was a police captain based in Scottburgh at the time of the bombing and was in charge of security matters between Durban and Port Shepstone. It was the same year the ANC launched Operation Butterfly, which Zondo was part of. He was deemed to be an instructor and not an operative. After a raid into Lesotho by South African forces, killing nine anti-apartheid activists, Zondo was instructed to retaliate against military targets. Many of those arrested after the Amanzimtoti bombing, who formed part of Operation Butterfly, were detained at Scottburgh. Having arrested Zondo a few years before the incident, Wood’s father was once again interviewing Zondo and arranging family visits to prison.

“Later he made an off er to Zondo to give evidence against two others in return for mitigating circumstances and a jail sentence rather than a death penalty,” said Wood.

The books are currently only in download format via Amazon and other online platforms.

DID YOU KNOW?

Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics. To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 061 694 6047.

The South Coast Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram– why not join us there?

Do you have more information pertaining to this story?

Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.

(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)