Death of an idealist: In search of Neil Aggett - Beverley Naidoo (Signed)

'...the detainees in police cells or in prisons are being detained under the most favourable conditions possible... All reasonable precautions are being taken to prevent any of them from injuring themselves or from being injured in some other way or from committing suicide.'
- Minister of Police Louis le Grange in Parliament, 1982

Two days later, Dr Neil Hudson Aggett was found hanging from the bars of the steel grille in his cell in John Vorster Square. He had spent 70 days in detention. He was the 51st person, and the first white person, to die in detention. he was 28.

His death provoked an enormous public outcry, his funeral attended by thousands of workers who marched through the streets of Johannesburg. This quiet, intense young man was, in death, declared 'a man of the people'.

Born to settler parents in Kenya in 1952, Neil Aggett moved with his family to South Africa in early childhood. He attended school in Grahamstown before studying medicine  at the University of Cape Town. Death of an idealist explores the metamorphosis of a high-achieving, sports-loving schoolboy into a dedicated activist and unpaid trade union organiser.

Beverley Naidoo traces Neil Aggett's life, in particular the years leading up to his detention as a result of a Security Branch 'sting' operation, the weeks of interrogation, and the inquest that followed his death. She recreates the momentous events of his life and, in doing so, reveals the extraordinary impact Neil's life had on those around him including his family, friends, and comrades.

Today, a generation later, South Africa still faces huge challenges. The idealism and sacrifice displayed by Neil Aggett and so many others appeared to have been replaced by cynicism and hand-wringing. Death of an idealist is as much the story of a remarkable young man as it is a reminder that every generation needs its idealists.