The Young Activist Who Faced a Letter Bomb for Fighting Apartheid
From anti-apartheid activist to novelist, a life shaped by political struggle and global engagement
Lord Peter Hain was 19 years old when he led campaigns to stop all-white South African sports tours. The response was swift and vicious: a letter bomb, a false framing for bank theft, and a near-miss with prison. His parents had already been jailed, banned and driven into exile for their anti-apartheid activism. That early immersion in political struggle would shape everything that followed.
Hain spent 24 years as a Labour MP in the United Kingdom, serving 12 years in government and seven in the Cabinet. Alongside that parliamentary work, he wrote 30 books, a prolific output that speaks to both discipline and a restless engagement with the world.
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His latest novel, Smuggler Kingpin, published by Jonathan Ball, draws on his lifelong fascination with geopolitics and corruption. The thriller traces the shadowy networks of African tobacco and gold trafficking, where Zimbabwean corruption and South African gangsterism intersect. The book arrives in South African bookstores this month, with Hain scheduled to visit in August for a series of events, including a launch at Exclusive Books Hyde Park and a lecture at Gibs Business School.
Before his arrival, Hain answered eight questions that reveal the texture of his life beyond politics and writing. On recent reading, he pointed to Mark Leonard’s Surviving Chaos: Geopolitics When the Rules Fail, citing its penetrating analysis of China’s technological advancement and strategic positioning against the Western world. The choice reflects a mind still deeply engaged with power, strategy and global competition.
On physical health, he described a measured approach: regular walking, consistent gym work without excess, and occasional Pilates sessions to address core strength, something he notes that older people often neglect.
For casual dining, simplicity wins. Near his home in Gower, South Wales, he favors King Arthur Pub. On holiday on the Cape Peninsula, Café Roux in Noordhoek Farm Village becomes his retreat.
Art holds particular meaning for him. Picasso’s Guernica stands as the one artwork he will always love, drawn to its unflinching depiction of the Nazi bombing of a peaceful Basque village during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. The painting carries a story within the story: when it was displayed in Paris, a Nazi leader allegedly asked Picasso who was responsible for such horror. Picasso’s reply was direct. “You did.”
His hobbies center on sport, particularly soccer. He has supported Chelsea in the Premier League since 1965, a loyalty that took root just before his anti-apartheid parents and their four children were forced into exile from South Africa to southwest London. That displacement, while traumatic, anchored him to a team and a city that became home.
When pressed on an unusual item he cannot live without, Hain named rooibos tea, a small but telling connection to the country his family fled. His high school celebrity crush, he noted with humor, was shared across generations of film audiences: all the girlfriends in the James Bond films. For a desert island, he would take three songs: UB40’s Red Red Wine, Katie Melua’s If You Were a Sailboat, and Hot Water’s Lekker Sakkie, a mix that spans continents and decades of musical memory.
What remains to be seen is whether Smuggler Kingpin, rooted as it is in the corruption and trafficking networks Hain has observed across a lifetime in politics, will find the audience that his nonfiction has long commanded.
Q&A
What violent response did Hain face for his anti-apartheid activism as a teenager?
At age 19, Hain led campaigns against all-white South African sports tours and faced a letter bomb, false framing for bank theft, and near-imprisonment as retaliation.
How did Hain's family's exile from South Africa shape his personal life?
His parents were jailed, banned and driven into exile for their anti-apartheid work, forcing the family to relocate to southwest London, where Hain developed a lasting loyalty to Chelsea Football Club.
What is the focus of Hain's latest novel Smuggler Kingpin?
The thriller traces shadowy networks of African tobacco and gold trafficking, examining where Zimbabwean corruption and South African gangsterism intersect, drawing on his lifelong study of geopolitics.
What personal interests and habits does Hain maintain outside of politics and writing?
Hain practices regular walking and gym work, supports Chelsea Football Club since 1965, enjoys dining at King Arthur Pub near his Gower home, and maintains a connection to South Africa through rooibos tea.