Mbeki's ride

ZM: When did you learn how to drive?

TM: I learnt to drive a car in 1961. This was because the then ANC Secretary General, the late Duma Nokwe, and particularly also his late wife, Sis Tiny, insisted that, to assist him to do his work, I had to learn to drive the ANC cars to which he had access – a 1947 Chevrolet, a 1948 Dodge, and a much more modern Zephyr station wagon.

ZM: When did you get your driver’s licence?

TM: I must confess that I have never had a driver’s licence. This was because to get one here at home, I had to get a “pass”, the Reference Book. I was determined not to do this especially in the aftermath of the Anti-Pass Campaign. The best or worst I did was to get a piece of paper which said that I had been to a “pass office” to apply for a “pass”. I used this piece of paper to pass through all police road blocks. I have therefore not driven a car since we returned home in 1990.

 From an interview with Thabo Mbeki by Ziphezinhle Msimang, published in the Sunday Times' lifestyle feature, March 31, 2013. The extract is taken from Mbeki's website, which features the 'full' version of the interview.