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enter image description here

The above image was posted on the South African Subreddit. The three quotes are as follows:

What I fear is that the liberators emerge as elitists who drive around in Mercedes Benzes and use the resources of this country ...to live in palaces and to gather riches.

~Chris Hani

A corrupt ANC will be far worse than apartheid.

~O.R. Tambo

If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government.

~Nelson Mandela

Were any of these quotes actually said by the men the image claims said them?

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    I researched this question before asking it and have answered it myself, we are allowed to do this. I have phrased the question to reflect this intention.
    – Morgoth
    Jul 22, 2020 at 22:37
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    This is too many claims. Anyone competing with your answer needs to address all of them, rather than one. Please consider sticking to one claim.
    – Oddthinking
    Jul 22, 2020 at 23:59
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    @Oddthinking If Morgoth posted 3 questions, 1 for each quote, wouldn't people just complain about that? Jul 23, 2020 at 6:52
  • 3
    @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket: We normally say: Post one. See how it goes down. Then post the others - preferably slowly. Better than unanswerable questions.
    – Oddthinking
    Jul 23, 2020 at 10:44
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    If it was posted as three separate questions, it would be counterproductive from the point of view of someone coming to the site for information. People don't want to have to click around to three different questions.
    – user4216
    Jul 23, 2020 at 15:40

1 Answer 1

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Chris Hani - Maybe

Multiple news outlets have used this quote, including: News24, The South Africa, Mail and Guardian, and The Herald. Not too surprising, but none of these outlets cite the source of the quote.

The date of 29 October 1992 comes up often (such as here). In Glenda Daniels' dissertation Chap 3 she cites the source of the quote as the 29th of October 1999 issue of the Beeld. I could not find this issue of the paper online, but a number of libraries (such as UNISA's library) has Die Beeld in archive on microfilm.

OR Tambo - No evidence - unlikely

Africa Check has fact checked this claim, and says there is no evidence.

Nelson Mandela - No primary source

Africa Check has fact checked this claim, and reports that there is no primary source for the quote. The oldest reference Africa Check found is from the Q3 1993 edition of the African Communist, which is a transcript of an address to the September COSATU Special Congress. The quote in this publication is as follows:

you must support the African National Congress only so far as it delivers the goods, if the ANC does not deliver the goods, you must do to it what you have done to the apartheid regime

This event was filmed, but the only recording discussed by Africa Check is incomplete and does not feature this quote.

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    It's challenging to come up with good short header summaries, but based solely on reading your answer and some of the linked documents, perhaps more accurate headers would be "Chris Hani - Unknown unless confirmed" and "Oliver Tambo - No evidence - Exceptionally unlikely". Jul 23, 2020 at 7:05
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    @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket, That is a good suggestion. That was the conclusion of the Africa Check piece.
    – Morgoth
    Jul 23, 2020 at 7:45
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    For the Mandela, might a more accurate summary be “No evidence for first half; second half probably authentic”? The African Communist speech transcript is a primary source by most standards, and the phrase “…you must do to it [= the ANC] what you have done to the apartheid regime” there is essentially the same as the second half of the OP’s quote, with very minor wording change. And while the precise wording of the first half isn’t found anywhere, it doesn’t distort the meaning of the second half — it’s a similar basic idea to the context of that part in the speech.
    – PLL
    Jul 23, 2020 at 14:31

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