The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife
Encyclopedia
The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife is a 1991 British feature-length documentary film
set during the final days of the apartheid regime in South Africa, particularly centering on Eugène Terre'Blanche
, founder and leader of the far-right, white supremacist political organisation AWB
. The film was directed by Nick Broomfield
and released in 1991. It received an average of 2.3 million viewers during its screening on Channel 4
. A year later it was the subject of legal action brought by the journalist, Jani Allan
, in what has been described as "the libel case of the summer". In 2006, Broomfield released a follow-up, His Big White Self
.
For the majority of the film where Broomfield is unable to get an interview with the Leader himself, his attention is drawn to the driver and his wife (JP and Anita Meyer), hence the title (which alludes to the title of Peter Greenaway
's 1989 film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
).
Broomfield also spent time with a Town Councillor and diamond mine owner named Johann and his friend Anton. Broomfield had planned to interview Boervolk leader Piet Rudolph but when on the outskirts of Pretoria
a news broadcast informed them that he'd been arrested, Rudolph was a fugitive wanted in connection with the theft of some arms from an SA Defence Force base located in Pretoria. After his arrest in Pretoria, Mr Rudolph was dubbed as the 'South African Bobby Sands
' in reference to his proclamation that he would go on a hunger strike in order to promote his (and the AWB's) cause for a white homeland. The film also makes light of the ongoing saga of trying to get an interview with the leader, something which Broomfield eventually manages to do although he's only able to ask one question after Terre'Blanche takes particular offence when Broomfield and his crew turn up 10 minutes late for the interview. The film ends with Broomfield and his crew at an AWB rally where a crowd of five thousand were expected but in reality not even half that number are present. The credits roll soon after Terre'Blanche again breaks into fits of rage sighting supposed security violations committed by Broomfield's camera crew.
The documentary was released in the UK as a DVD
boxset, together with His Big White Self
, in April 2006.
.
-J.P Meyer. JP is 'the leader's' personal driver and a prominent member of the AWB party. Although the film was intended to focus largely on the leader, much of Nick and his crews time is spent with JP and his wife. The film encounters JP shorlty after his release from prison for his alleged involvement with white terrorists, notably his connection to Piet Rudolph. During much of the film, JP's personal nature largely displays elements of prejudice against Black people. When asked by Broomfield if he ever felt sorry for Nelson Mandela
when he was incarcerated on Robben Island
, he simply replies that he doesn't feel sorry "for that bloody kaffir
" (a racist term for a black person). He even proclaims himself to be a racist during the conversation. In spite of this, the film also follows JP's growing disillusionment with the AWB and their struggle for a white homeland, particularly after Piet Rudolph ends his hunger strike and calls on people to give up their weapons. Towards the end of the film JP leaves his post as driver to the leader and it is later revealed at the film's conclusion that he left the AWB entirely and opened up a small electrical business.
- Anita Meyer. Anita is JP's long-suffering wife. Unlike most of the films other characters, she clearly has a dislike for the leader. During a conversation with Broomfield she sees him as a domineering figure and tends not to speak of him in high regard. Anita works as a nurse and her chief concerns, according to Nick, are the distribution of condoms and the sterilisation of women. Like JP, she tends not to be very liberal in her views on black people and can be seen at an AWB rally smiling when a child proclaims that he'll hit any black child who attends his white school. She is also filmed with her pet cat which is named kaffir cat. The reason being, in her own words, is that the cat is black and as "blacks are called kaffirs" it has seemingly been 'appropriately named'. Broomfield would later to go on to dub Anita of "kaffir cat fame" in his follow up film in reference to the episode.
- Johann and Anton. Johann is a town councillor in Ventersdorp and also owns a diamond mine and tractor business. He is ofen seen throughout the film with his friend Anton. Both express prejudiced views on black people including the belief that blacks should be forbidden from having sexual relations with whites, concluding that it will lead to the spread of AIDS
causing the depletion of the white population in South Africa. Johann is also seen at the town's local swimming pool claiming it to be for whites only. During a particularly comical scene, Johann and Anton attempt to tell Broomfield's assistant Rita a joke which, despite repeated attempts, she doesn't understand most likely due to their limited knowledge of English grammar. Neither reappear in Broomfields sequel. It is also never revealed whether or not either are members of the AWB although their views suggest at the very least they would have AWB sympathies.
sued Channel 4
, the British broadcaster, for libel, claiming that in the documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife by Nick Broomfield
she was presented as a "woman of easy virtue". Amidst a montage of photographs from Allan's earlier days as a photographic model and Sunday Times quotes; Broomfield claimed that Jani Allan had had an affair with Terre'Blanche. The documentary-maker and his crew were following the AWB and its activities. The significance of the case led to its inclusion in the 1992 annual edition of Whitaker's Almanack
.
During the trial, Channel 4
denied the claim that they had suggested Allan had an affair with Terre'Blanche. Prior to the case, Allan had been awarded £40, 000 in out-of-court settlements from the Evening Standard
and Options magazine over suggestive remarks made about the nature of Allan's association with Terre'Blanche.
Allan was represented by the late Peter Carter-Ruck
in the case and Channel 4 was represented by the late QC George Carman
. Carman described the case as rare in that it had "international, social, political and cultural implications."
The case sparked intense media interest in both Britain and South Africa, with several court transcripts appearing in the press Allan famously told Carman
"Whatever award is given for libel, being cross-examined by you would not make it enough money." Several character witnesses were flown in from South Africa.
Terre'Blanche also submitted a sworn statement to the London court denying that he had had an affair with Allan. Allan's case was dealt a heavy blow by the statements of her former flatmate, Linda Shaw, the Sunday Times astrologer. Shaw admitted that she peeped through a keyhole and witnessed Allan in a compromising position with a man. Allan's QC
, Charles Gray dismissed Shaw's "wildly unlikely" testimony and stressed the physical impossibility of her claim. He continued to express that her field of vision through the keyhole would not be sufficient to support her claim.
On day 2, Allan's 1984 notebook was mysteriously delivered to Carmen's counsel and used against her. This was investigated by the police, according to reports a "one-time friend" had taken the notebook from the home where Allan stayed with an English couple in 1989.
On day 5, faxes were sent to British and South African media sources describing details of a recent sexual encounter between prominent defense witness, Linda Shaw and Andrew Broulidakis. Broulidakis supplied a draft statement, explaining he was attempting to decipher what evidence she was going to give. The details of the encounter between the two was described as "pornographic" and would have brought into question Shaw's character and reliability as a witness. Subsequently the faxes were not used as evidence in court. Allan's former husband Gordon Schachat
provided evidence supporting claims Allan had made about sex and insisted she was neither an extreme right-winger or anti-semitic.
On day 11 of the case, Anthony Travers, a former British representative of the AWB and spectator of the court was stabbed. A court usher received a call saying Peter Carter-Ruck, Ms Allan's solicitor, had been stabbed. This stemmed from a message by Travers who was lying in an alleyway he said to a passer-by 'tell Carter-Ruck I've been stabbed'. It quickly spread that Carter-Ruck had been stabbed, followed by speculation that he was the intended victim.
During the trial, Jani Allan's London flat was burgled. She said that she received a death threat on a telephone call in the court ushers' offices. The hotel room of a Channel 4 producer, Stevie Godson was also ransacked.
Allan eventually lost the case on 5 August 1992. Although the judge found that Channel 4's allegations had not defamed Allan, he did not rule on whether or not there had been an affair. Although reports emerged that Allan was considering an appeal and Terre'Blanche also expressed the possibility that he may sue the broadcaster for libel.
Following the verdict, Allan reiterated her stance "I am not, nor have I ever been, involved with Terre'Blanche".
Soon after, several publications speculated about political forces at play during the case. The Independent
published details of what it called "dirty tricks
" used during the trial. Allan suggested that pro-government forces in South Africa wanted her to lose the case so that Terre'Blanche would be 'irreparably damaged' in the eyes of his 'God fearing Calvinist followers'. Another interpretation is that the AWB wanted to steal a manuscript of a book she was writing about the organisation. The AWB countered these claims, although Travers described the book as "dynamite." The South African business newspaper Financial Mail
published a lead story on 6 August detailing "The theory" that F.W. de Klerk had orchestrated the libel case to discredit Terre'Blanche and the far right movement in South Africa.
In 1995, during an interview with SABC, Allan accused witnesses in the case of being paid to lie.
In a 2002 BBC
film Get Carman: the trials of George Carman QC, Allan's case was dramatised together with a number of other high-profile Carmen cases.
The libel suit is mentioned amidst a montage of photos and camera footage of Jani Allan and reporters outside the London court in 1992, in the 2006 Nick Broomfield sequel His Big White Self
, a sequel to The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife, the documentary that spawned the libel suit.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
set during the final days of the apartheid regime in South Africa, particularly centering on Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging during the apartheid era...
, founder and leader of the far-right, white supremacist political organisation AWB
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging is a South African far right separatist political and former paramilitary organization, since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "" in part of South Africa...
. The film was directed by Nick Broomfield
Nick Broomfield
Nicholas "Nick" Broomfield is an English documentary film-maker. He is the son of Maurice Broomfield, a photographer.Broomfield works with a minimal crew, recording sound himself and using one or two camera operators...
and released in 1991. It received an average of 2.3 million viewers during its screening on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. A year later it was the subject of legal action brought by the journalist, Jani Allan
Jani Allan
Jani Allan is a South African columnist and radio commentator. She became a household name as a columnist for the Sunday Times where she worked between 1979-90. She is also known for her alleged affair with an interviewee, the late right-wing political leader Eugène Terre'Blanche...
, in what has been described as "the libel case of the summer". In 2006, Broomfield released a follow-up, His Big White Self
His Big White Self
His Big White Self is a 2006 documentary film made by Nick Broomfield. It is a follow up to his 1991 film The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife. It was shown for the first time as part of More4's Nick Broomfield week which started on February 27, 2006.The documentary follows Broomfield as he...
.
Background
Throughout the film, Broomfield attempts to set up an interview with Terre'Blanche, who stubbornly breaks all of the plans he makes with him.For the majority of the film where Broomfield is unable to get an interview with the Leader himself, his attention is drawn to the driver and his wife (JP and Anita Meyer), hence the title (which alludes to the title of Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
's 1989 film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a 1989 romantic crime drama written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, and Alan Howard in the titular roles...
).
Broomfield also spent time with a Town Councillor and diamond mine owner named Johann and his friend Anton. Broomfield had planned to interview Boervolk leader Piet Rudolph but when on the outskirts of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
a news broadcast informed them that he'd been arrested, Rudolph was a fugitive wanted in connection with the theft of some arms from an SA Defence Force base located in Pretoria. After his arrest in Pretoria, Mr Rudolph was dubbed as the 'South African Bobby Sands
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
' in reference to his proclamation that he would go on a hunger strike in order to promote his (and the AWB's) cause for a white homeland. The film also makes light of the ongoing saga of trying to get an interview with the leader, something which Broomfield eventually manages to do although he's only able to ask one question after Terre'Blanche takes particular offence when Broomfield and his crew turn up 10 minutes late for the interview. The film ends with Broomfield and his crew at an AWB rally where a crowd of five thousand were expected but in reality not even half that number are present. The credits roll soon after Terre'Blanche again breaks into fits of rage sighting supposed security violations committed by Broomfield's camera crew.
The documentary was released in the UK as a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
boxset, together with His Big White Self
His Big White Self
His Big White Self is a 2006 documentary film made by Nick Broomfield. It is a follow up to his 1991 film The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife. It was shown for the first time as part of More4's Nick Broomfield week which started on February 27, 2006.The documentary follows Broomfield as he...
, in April 2006.
Main characters
-Eugene Terre'BlancheEugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging during the apartheid era...
.
-J.P Meyer. JP is 'the leader's' personal driver and a prominent member of the AWB party. Although the film was intended to focus largely on the leader, much of Nick and his crews time is spent with JP and his wife. The film encounters JP shorlty after his release from prison for his alleged involvement with white terrorists, notably his connection to Piet Rudolph. During much of the film, JP's personal nature largely displays elements of prejudice against Black people. When asked by Broomfield if he ever felt sorry for Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
when he was incarcerated on Robben Island
Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...
, he simply replies that he doesn't feel sorry "for that bloody kaffir
Kaffir (racial term)
The word kaffir, sometimes spelled kaffer or kafir, is an offensive term for a black person, most common in South Africa and other African countries...
" (a racist term for a black person). He even proclaims himself to be a racist during the conversation. In spite of this, the film also follows JP's growing disillusionment with the AWB and their struggle for a white homeland, particularly after Piet Rudolph ends his hunger strike and calls on people to give up their weapons. Towards the end of the film JP leaves his post as driver to the leader and it is later revealed at the film's conclusion that he left the AWB entirely and opened up a small electrical business.
- Anita Meyer. Anita is JP's long-suffering wife. Unlike most of the films other characters, she clearly has a dislike for the leader. During a conversation with Broomfield she sees him as a domineering figure and tends not to speak of him in high regard. Anita works as a nurse and her chief concerns, according to Nick, are the distribution of condoms and the sterilisation of women. Like JP, she tends not to be very liberal in her views on black people and can be seen at an AWB rally smiling when a child proclaims that he'll hit any black child who attends his white school. She is also filmed with her pet cat which is named kaffir cat. The reason being, in her own words, is that the cat is black and as "blacks are called kaffirs" it has seemingly been 'appropriately named'. Broomfield would later to go on to dub Anita of "kaffir cat fame" in his follow up film in reference to the episode.
- Johann and Anton. Johann is a town councillor in Ventersdorp and also owns a diamond mine and tractor business. He is ofen seen throughout the film with his friend Anton. Both express prejudiced views on black people including the belief that blacks should be forbidden from having sexual relations with whites, concluding that it will lead to the spread of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
causing the depletion of the white population in South Africa. Johann is also seen at the town's local swimming pool claiming it to be for whites only. During a particularly comical scene, Johann and Anton attempt to tell Broomfield's assistant Rita a joke which, despite repeated attempts, she doesn't understand most likely due to their limited knowledge of English grammar. Neither reappear in Broomfields sequel. It is also never revealed whether or not either are members of the AWB although their views suggest at the very least they would have AWB sympathies.
Libel suit
In 1992, the former columnist Jani AllanJani Allan
Jani Allan is a South African columnist and radio commentator. She became a household name as a columnist for the Sunday Times where she worked between 1979-90. She is also known for her alleged affair with an interviewee, the late right-wing political leader Eugène Terre'Blanche...
sued Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, the British broadcaster, for libel, claiming that in the documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife by Nick Broomfield
Nick Broomfield
Nicholas "Nick" Broomfield is an English documentary film-maker. He is the son of Maurice Broomfield, a photographer.Broomfield works with a minimal crew, recording sound himself and using one or two camera operators...
she was presented as a "woman of easy virtue". Amidst a montage of photographs from Allan's earlier days as a photographic model and Sunday Times quotes; Broomfield claimed that Jani Allan had had an affair with Terre'Blanche. The documentary-maker and his crew were following the AWB and its activities. The significance of the case led to its inclusion in the 1992 annual edition of Whitaker's Almanack
Whitaker's Almanack
Whitaker's Almanack is a reference book, published annually in the United Kingdom. The book was originally published by J Whitaker & Sons from 1868 to 1997, then by The Stationery Office, from 2003 to 2010 by A & C Black and from 2011 by .-Content:...
.
During the trial, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
denied the claim that they had suggested Allan had an affair with Terre'Blanche. Prior to the case, Allan had been awarded £40, 000 in out-of-court settlements from the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
and Options magazine over suggestive remarks made about the nature of Allan's association with Terre'Blanche.
Allan was represented by the late Peter Carter-Ruck
Peter Carter-Ruck
Peter Frederick Carter-Ruck was an English lawyer, specialising in libel cases. The firm he founded, Carter-Ruck, is still practising.-Personal life:...
in the case and Channel 4 was represented by the late QC George Carman
George Carman
George Alfred Carman, QC , was a leading English barrister of the 1980s and 1990s. He first came to the attention of the general public in 1979, when he successfully defended the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe after he was charged with conspiracy to murder...
. Carman described the case as rare in that it had "international, social, political and cultural implications."
The case sparked intense media interest in both Britain and South Africa, with several court transcripts appearing in the press Allan famously told Carman
"Whatever award is given for libel, being cross-examined by you would not make it enough money." Several character witnesses were flown in from South Africa.
Terre'Blanche also submitted a sworn statement to the London court denying that he had had an affair with Allan. Allan's case was dealt a heavy blow by the statements of her former flatmate, Linda Shaw, the Sunday Times astrologer. Shaw admitted that she peeped through a keyhole and witnessed Allan in a compromising position with a man. Allan's QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, Charles Gray dismissed Shaw's "wildly unlikely" testimony and stressed the physical impossibility of her claim. He continued to express that her field of vision through the keyhole would not be sufficient to support her claim.
On day 2, Allan's 1984 notebook was mysteriously delivered to Carmen's counsel and used against her. This was investigated by the police, according to reports a "one-time friend" had taken the notebook from the home where Allan stayed with an English couple in 1989.
On day 5, faxes were sent to British and South African media sources describing details of a recent sexual encounter between prominent defense witness, Linda Shaw and Andrew Broulidakis. Broulidakis supplied a draft statement, explaining he was attempting to decipher what evidence she was going to give. The details of the encounter between the two was described as "pornographic" and would have brought into question Shaw's character and reliability as a witness. Subsequently the faxes were not used as evidence in court. Allan's former husband Gordon Schachat
Gordon Schachat
Gordon Schachat is a South African businessman and prominent art collector. He is featured regularly on the Sunday Times Rich List.-Personal life:...
provided evidence supporting claims Allan had made about sex and insisted she was neither an extreme right-winger or anti-semitic.
On day 11 of the case, Anthony Travers, a former British representative of the AWB and spectator of the court was stabbed. A court usher received a call saying Peter Carter-Ruck, Ms Allan's solicitor, had been stabbed. This stemmed from a message by Travers who was lying in an alleyway he said to a passer-by 'tell Carter-Ruck I've been stabbed'. It quickly spread that Carter-Ruck had been stabbed, followed by speculation that he was the intended victim.
During the trial, Jani Allan's London flat was burgled. She said that she received a death threat on a telephone call in the court ushers' offices. The hotel room of a Channel 4 producer, Stevie Godson was also ransacked.
Allan eventually lost the case on 5 August 1992. Although the judge found that Channel 4's allegations had not defamed Allan, he did not rule on whether or not there had been an affair. Although reports emerged that Allan was considering an appeal and Terre'Blanche also expressed the possibility that he may sue the broadcaster for libel.
Following the verdict, Allan reiterated her stance "I am not, nor have I ever been, involved with Terre'Blanche".
Soon after, several publications speculated about political forces at play during the case. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
published details of what it called "dirty tricks
Dirty tricks
Dirty tricks are unethical, duplicitous, slanderous or illegal tactics employed to destroy or diminish the effectiveness of political or business opponents...
" used during the trial. Allan suggested that pro-government forces in South Africa wanted her to lose the case so that Terre'Blanche would be 'irreparably damaged' in the eyes of his 'God fearing Calvinist followers'. Another interpretation is that the AWB wanted to steal a manuscript of a book she was writing about the organisation. The AWB countered these claims, although Travers described the book as "dynamite." The South African business newspaper Financial Mail
Financial Mail
Financial Mail , is a South African business publication focused on reaching the country's top business people. This weekly publication, which was launched in 1959, underwent a major "look and feel" change in 2006, which saw it reclaim its position as the most widely read English business weekly in...
published a lead story on 6 August detailing "The theory" that F.W. de Klerk had orchestrated the libel case to discredit Terre'Blanche and the far right movement in South Africa.
In 1995, during an interview with SABC, Allan accused witnesses in the case of being paid to lie.
In a 2002 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
film Get Carman: the trials of George Carman QC, Allan's case was dramatised together with a number of other high-profile Carmen cases.
The libel suit is mentioned amidst a montage of photos and camera footage of Jani Allan and reporters outside the London court in 1992, in the 2006 Nick Broomfield sequel His Big White Self
His Big White Self
His Big White Self is a 2006 documentary film made by Nick Broomfield. It is a follow up to his 1991 film The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife. It was shown for the first time as part of More4's Nick Broomfield week which started on February 27, 2006.The documentary follows Broomfield as he...
, a sequel to The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife, the documentary that spawned the libel suit.