Clare, The killing of a gentle activist by Christopher Clark

Clare, The killing of a gentle activist written by Christopher Clark and published by NB Publishers this year, is the long and winding search for the truth about Clare Stewart, a young woman who was often referred to as a ‘gentle activist’. Clark was determined to uncover who the real Clare had been and what had motivated her to dedicate herself to the upliftment of rural cattle farmers in KwaZulu-Natal in the early nineties. Most importantly, he wanted to help her family find the reason for her murder in November of 1993.

I attended the launch of Clark’s book at The Book Revue and was intrigued to hear him describe what had first piqued his interest in Clare’s story, and why he was unable to let it go. When he met and became closely connected to her children and family members, Clark realised that he had no choice but to pen a book about this almost 30-year-old unresolved mystery.

It is a sad statistic that Clare Stewart’s murder was but one of more than 20,000 perpetrated in South Africa between 1984 and 1994, when battles raged between the state-backed Inkatha Freedom Party and the ANC and UDF in KwaZulu-Natal. Most astonishing about Pippa Smith’s interview with Clark, was learning of the intense and ongoing conflict that persists in this remote area of KZN and the frequent murders that are still being committed here and largely go unreported in the media. In February this year, it was revealed that more than 250 assassinations or political killings have been investigated since 2018, with only 32 successful convictions.

It was in Manguzi, KZN, just as the country was preparing for its first free democratic election, where the body of Clare Stewart, the well-loved and gentle ANC activist and development worker, lay hidden in a shallow ditch beneath towering red aloes for 14 days before cattle herders discovered her remains. By all accounts, 34-year-old Clare was an extraordinarily brave woman who moved to this remote part of the world and lived in primitive circumstances with her two young children. Despite rampant political violence engulfing the region, Clare then set out to create, with the support of the local community and farmers, a rural cattle operative.

An experienced journalist who grew up in Devon in the UK, Christopher Clark decided to make South Africa his home, where he covered major stories for leading news stations, and eventually set out on a personal quest to uncover the circumstances and motivations behind Clare’s murder. Reading Clark’s vivid account of his investigation is like being on a ride-along. The reader is made privy to his personal journey and plays witness to his gradual transition from reporter to author as he discovers similarities between his life and that of his subject’s.

I enjoyed the candid insight into Clark himself, his methods, views and the turmoil he had to endure as he started to lift the lid on an ice-cold case. It proved a herculean task for Clark to sift through the memories and recollections of those who had been close to Clare, as well as those suspected of having been involved.

As upsetting as it was to read about the ongoing political complexities of our country, the violence and the many historical obstacles that continue to prevent us from building a united nation, Clark’s compelling account of the search for the truth, and his quest to better understand his subject’s bold, intrepid life and her enduring legacy, is well worth a read.