Episode Information

To bomb your way to freedom is a difficult decision for the leader of any liberation movement. Countless innocent people could lose their lives. Albert Luthuli was the leader of the African National Congress when it embarked on an armed struggle. The timing couldn’t have been worse for him - he’d just won the Nobel Peace Prize; the first African to do so. It’s a dilemma faced by the protagonists in political conflicts the world over - when, if ever, is it justifiable to resort to violence? This biographical documentary tells the story of the inner turmoil of one of South Africa’s great political leaders; how his religious beliefs bound him to non-violent campaigns, how he was contentiously eclipsed by Nelson Mandela’s resolve to wage armed struggle. Largely marginalised by the ANC, Luthuli died in mysterious circumstances, thought to have been the work of apartheid agents. The South Africa of today was then still a long way off - arguably delayed by the ANC’s very decision to use violence.