Vain but cunning bully who lived beyond the law; PW Botha, 'South Africa's Pinochet', has passed on but his ghost haunts the Outeniqua mountains and his legacy is a blight on our political landscape.(News) From: The Sunday Independent (South Africa) | Date: November 5, 2006 | COPYRIGHT 2006 Independent News & Media PLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

BYLINE: Michael Schmidt

Pieter Willem Botha lies as cold and dead on the mortuary slab as Stephen Bantu Biko did in the back of a police van almost 30 years ago.

The Groot Krokodil, whose vice-like bite held so many in fear, evaporated into the night on Halloween like a wraith of mist on the Outeniqua Pass. The nation is now at loggerheads over how his legacy should be assessed.

The comparison with Biko is partly unfair because PW Botha ascended th...