In 1986, my family relocated to Wendywood, part of the affluent white suburb of Sandton, north of Johannesburg. This radical move, in defiance of the apartheid government laws, caused a major stir in South Africa. To my recollection, no black family had attempted to challenge the government in the manner we had just done.

I had asked Chris Ball to assist me in relocating my family out of Soweto, after the incident with the children. Of course, my wife was also putting pressure on me, because we had the option of returning to the USA. Moving into Sandton was a huge step for us but a major challenge to the governing authorities. I achieved this by suggesting that the bank (and Chris in particular) purchase the house for me because in terms of the Group Areas Act 36 of 1966, no African was allowed to own property in a white suburb in the country. Chris and I had a long discussion about the undertaking. In the end, we agreed that if I was prepared to take the political risk, the Bank would take the commercial risk. Stated differently it meant, in the worst case scenario, I would go to prison and the bank would forfeit the mortgage investment. There was also the socio-political risk that I could be viewed as a sell-out, deserting the community in Soweto and moving into a so-called white suburb.

In addition, possible abuse and physical attack from the lunatic fringe of reactionary whites, the verkramptes, was not a far-fetched fear. These fears loomed large in the decision-making process, considering that, at the time, the attitude of many white South Africans was not fully tested in this regard. Many others had accepted the status quo; their lives were protected and secured by the existence of the discriminatory laws. That the government of the day had been consistently returned to power, with an ever-increasing majority, since 1948 was part evidence of this perception among the majority of the population. There seemed to be some kind of acquiescence by most of the white electorate.