Gobodo-Madikizela, Pumla. A Human Being Died that Night

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is a South-African psychologist whose main areas of interest are trauma, memory and forgiveness. Madikizela interviewed Eugene De Kock, one of the men responsible for the state-sanctioned mass murders that occurred under the apartheid government in South Africa. Through these interviews with De Kock, who was nicknamed “Prime Evil” due to the acts of torture and executions he carried out, Madikizela explores questions of forgiveness and remorse in the context of the TRC. She examines what it means morally when perpetrators reveal elements of themselves which display aspects of humanity which allow the public to empathise with and relate to these shared aspects which ultimately define us as humans.

Gobodo-Madikizela, Pumla. A Human Being Died That Night: A Story of Forgiveness. Claremont, South Africa: David Philip, 2003. Print.