The White Lioness

Henning Mankell
Prologue

I n 1990 Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island, where he had been a political prisoner for almost thirty years.

While the world rejoiced, many Afrikaners regarded the release of Nelson Mandela as an unspoken but signed and sealed declaration of war. President de Klerk became a hated traitor.

At the time of Mandela’s release, a group of men met in absolute secrecy to take upon themselves responsibility for the future of the Afrikaners. They were ruthless men. At the same time, however, they regarded themselves as having a divine mission. They would never submit.

They met in secret and reached a decision. They would spark off a civil war which could end only one way: in a devastating bloodbath.