By Gaye Davis
Allan Boesak is re-writing a chapter of his forthcoming book after former finance minister Trevor Manuel insisted that any reference to either him or his family be removed.
Joho publishers' CEO Vera Nagtegaal told The Mercury on Monday this followed an agreement reached with Manuel's lawyers following "lengthy discussions" last week.
Titled Running with Horses: Reflections of an Accidental Politician, the book was due to have been launched this week - but publication was postponed after Manuel - now head of the National Planning Commission - issued a lawyer's letter objecting to what Boesak had written about him.
In one of the chapters of the book - a memoir of Boesak's 30 years of church and political activism - Boesak had written that funds donated to his Foundation for Peace and Justice (FPJ) had been used to assist organisations and individuals during the 1988 state of emergency crackdown in the battle against apartheid.
He named Manuel's family as among those who benefited.
Boesak served time in jail after he was found, on appeal, to have been guilty of fraud and theft in connection with donors' funds.
Boesak said on Monday that he was "deeply disappointed". In a statement issued by Nagtegaal, he said it was "incomprehensible" to him "why any anti-apartheid activist should now be ashamed to have received support for their work, their families or themselves during our courageous struggle against that dangerous, utterly oppressive system". He said "the removal of names in a single paragraph does not diminish the value of the book as a whole".
"The book stands on its own."
Manuel has insisted that neither he nor his former wife benefited from funds disbursed by the Foundation for Peace and Justice.
Nagtegaal told The Mercury that after discussions last week, it had been decided to remove all references to Manuel and thus avoid a "lengthy and complicated legal battle".
"There's no proof or documentation of any of these claims (by Boesak), although there were people prepared to come forward and make sworn affidavits," she said. "We wanted to avoid legal battles, if possible".
Nagtegaal said publication of the book would be delayed by only two to three weeks. A copy of the final manuscript would be submitted to Manuel's lawyers, she said.
Another former United Democratic Front activist named in the book as benefiting from FPJ funds is Willie Hofmeyr, now a national deputy director of public prosecutions and head of the Asset Forfeiture Unit. He has denied ever receiving "a single cent". Nagtegaal said, however, Hofmeyr had as yet made no approach regarding the book's claim.