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The late Wilson Lwandhle Magadhla served in the South African Police Force at the peak of the struggle against the apartheid regime. Even as he remained true to his profession of policing, his heart remained with the freedom fighters; he yearned for a country underlined by equality before the law. Merit, he felt, should be the basis of judging persons rather than the colour of their skin. Drawing suspicion from both sides of the struggle, the good soldier soldiered on, balancing between loyalty to his people and the profession of keeping law and order. So what were the conditions like in policing during the years of apartheid? What was life like for a black police officer serving under the authority of one of the most repressive and detested regimes in the world? How did black policemen balance between the need for liberation from the oppressive order of apartheid and their duty to do law enforcement? Following the fall of the apartheid regime, the author went on to serve in Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that was chaired by the Reverend Desmond Tutu. Magadhla was the head of the Special Investigative Section of the commission. Published posthumously, The Colour of the Skunk is a book for historical records, providing an insider's account of working in government founded racial discrimination.

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Lwandhle Wilson Magadhla was a security and intelligence professional with a checkered history of service spanning more than 50 years. It is a history that straddled the eras of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa with interesting twists. In that lengthy service, Magadhla held various roles in the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Police. Serving as the head of special investigations for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was perhaps the apex of his career. In the process of all this, he won many recognitions and commendations, establishing himself as a professional par excellence.Magadhla was a member of apartheid police force yet never lost sight of the fact that the regime was illegitimate and oppressive. As a policeman and intelligence officer he marvels how he managed to survive in the turbulent years of the struggle for change in South Africa, even as he encountered cases of Africans' struggle against the racist regime.In his long sojourn, Magadhla worked with and alongside prominent South African personalities, including Nelson Mandela, Jacob Zuma, Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Bishop Desmon Tutu, among many others. His in-depth understanding of apartheid era conflict established him as an authority on black on black violence that came handy in the lead up to the 1994 elections in that country.This rich background, story-telling and writing abilities make his works interesting. Magadhla is a poet, story teller and a philosopher in his own right.Never a person that feared tough situations, he writes on the subject of courage that: Cowards never see the splendour of the battlefield, nor do they ever feel the thrill of towering over a fallen foe, for they die fighting shadows in their minds.

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