Who Really Killed Chris Hani?

By Chris Nicholson

Former High Court Judge Chris Nicholson reopens one of South Africa’s most enduring unanswered questions in a gripping new book.

South Africans have long believed they understand the truth behind the assassination of Chris Hani. However, that confidence comes under renewed scrutiny in Who Really Killed Chris Hani?

The author’s expertise in the case

In this explosive and meticulously researched work, former High Court judge and award-winning author Chris Nicholson argues that the accepted narrative tells only part of the story. He contends that the real architects of the killing may never have faced justice.

Importantly, Nicholson does not write as an armchair commentator. He has lived in KwaZulu-Natal for most of his life and practised as a human rights lawyer during apartheid. During that period, he represented victims of state repression in the years leading up to South Africa’s democratic transition. His legal work earned national recognition and, in 1995, led to his appointment as a High Court judge. From the bench, he presided over politically sensitive and high-profile cases at a critical moment in the country’s history.

Alongside his judicial career, Nicholson developed a formidable reputation as an author. He has published eight books and a play. Two of his nonfiction titles received nominations for the prestigious Alan Paton Award. Moreover, several of his works, including investigations into apartheid-era crimes and power structures, now count as essential reading for students of South African history.

Evidence and inconsistency surrounding the 1993 assassination

In Who Really Killed Chris Hani?, Nicholson applies a judge’s disciplined eye to evidence and inconsistency surrounding the 1993 assassination. That killing pushed South Africa to the brink of chaos. Although courts convicted Janusz Waluś and Clive Derby-Lewis, Nicholson argues they acted as tools rather than masterminds. He presents them as the visible edge of a far wider and darker conspiracy.

Drawing on court records, intelligence material, investigative journalism and historical parallels, Who Really Killed Chris Hani? challenges official narratives. It revisits ignored leads and interrogates who truly benefited from Hani’s death. As a result, the book delivers a compelling work of investigative history. It reads with the pace of a thriller but carries the intellectual weight of a legal judgment.

Nicholson explores potential links to apartheid-era security forces, international intelligence interests, political rivalries, and economic power. In doing so, Who Really Killed Chris Hani? raises deeply uncomfortable questions about South Africa’s negotiated transition. It also exposes the silences that still surround one of the country’s most traumatic political crimes.

More than three decades after the murder, Who Really Killed Chris Hani? Appears at a moment of renewed public debate about accountability, truth and unfinished justice. For broadcasters, journalists and historians, Nicholson offers a rare interview opportunity. He is a former High Court judge willing to challenge the adequacy of the justice system itself. More pointedly, he argues that Chris Hani’s assassination remains unresolved.

About the author

Christopher Nicholson was born on a farm near Richmond, Natal, South Africa. He was educated at Michaelhouse and later studied law at the University of Natal. He is a cousin of Peter and Graeme Pollock, both former South African Test cricketers and of the writer Alan Paton.

Before the majority rule in 1994, Nicholson practised as a human rights lawyer and assisted victims of apartheid-era abuses. His work earned him two awards. In 1995, authorities appointed him as a High Court judge. He retired in July 2010 to focus on his writing career. Since then, he has published six books, with his first two nominated for the Alan Paton Prize for Non-Fiction.