The Week 22Feb2020

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22 February 2020 THE WEEK

Obituaries

Michael“MadMike”Hoare
wasanaccountantwho
becameoneoftheworld’s
mostinfamousmercenaries.
AdapperveteranoftheSecondWorldWar,he
madehisnameinthemid-1960s,puttingdown
acommunist-backedrebellioninwhatwould
becomeDRCongo.Hehelpedsavemanylives,
thougharguablyhisreputationowedasmuch
tohis“self-mythologising”ashismilitaryskills,
saidTheGuardian.In^197 8,hisexploits
inspiredthefilmTheWildGeese,starring
RichardBurtonasacharacterbasedonhim.
Butafewyearslater,Hoare,whohasdiedaged
100,ratherdestroyedhisownmystiqueby
comingoutofretirementtoleadanattempted
coupintheSeychellesthatendedinfarce–and
ultimatelylandedhiminjail.

ThesonofIrishparents,ThomasMichael
HoarewasborninIndiain1 91 9.Atschoolin
England,hedreamtofmilitaryglory.His
parentssteeredhiminsteadtowardsaccountancy,butassoonas
warbrokeout, hejoinedtheLondonIrishRifles.Havingserved
inIndiaand Burma, heachievedthe rankofmajor.Finding
London stultifyingafter theWar,hemoved toSouthAfrica,said
theDailyMail.Heguidedsafaris,rodeamotorbikethelengthof
thecontinent, and wentin search ofthelost city oftheKalahari.
Thenin 1 961,he mettheCongolesepoliticianMoïse Tshombe.
Belgiumhadgranted Congo its independence, and duringamessy
transition, the resource rich Katanga region had seceded. Tshombe
–the presidentofthebreakawayprovince–hired Hoareto help
defend it.Hisinvolvementthenwasbrief,butthreeyearslater,
Tshombe –bythen Congo’sprimeminister–hiredhimagain,
thistimetolead government forcestryingto putdown theSimba
rebellion, aconflictthat haddrawnin Cuba and China.Hoare
put together aband of300 mercenaries–dubbed5Commando –

andledthemintothisbrutalbattle.Itwasto

hisadvantagethatthewarphotographerDon

McCullinhadhitchedaridewiththem,and

wasthereforeonhandtorecordsomeofwhat

followed.Hoareandhismenhelpeddrivethe

SimbaforcesbacktoStanleyville,where–

fearingdefeat–therebelstookasmanyBel gian

andAmericanshostageastheycould,saidThe

NewYorkTimes. 5 CommandoandBelgian

paratroopersrescued1,600ofthem,aswell

ashundredsoflocals,butfoundscoresdead,

includingnunswhohadbeenhackedtodeath

andpriestswiththeirthroatscut.Therewere

claimshismen–whomhenicknamedtheWild

Geeseafterthe 1 8thcenturyexiledIrish

mercenaries–committedatrocitiesoftheir

own,thoughhe’donlyacknowledgeturninga

blindeyetotheirlootingofStanleyville.“Idid

notregarditasashootingmatter,”hesaid

later.“NotafterwhatI’dseen.”

Afterthat,Hoaresettledquietlywithhis

secondwifeinSouthAfrica,wherehewrotebooksandlater

workedas a“technicaladviser” onThe WildGeese.Buthehad

anabidinghatredofcommunists,and in1983, heagreedtolead

aband of44 “overthe hill”mercenariestotheSeychelles,to

overthrow itssocialistgovernment.They arrivedonacharter

plane, posingas membersof adrinkingclubcalled theAncient

OrderofFrothBlowersand carryingweaponsinthefalse

bottoms oftheir suitcases.Butattheairport,anofficialsp otted

agunmuzzleand afirefighterupted.Sixhours later,the

mercenariesfledin anAirIndia jetthattheyhadhijacked.Back

in South Africa,Hoarewasjailed for20yearsforai rpiracy,and

servedthree.Thejudgecalled hisoperation a“farce”;thepress

dubbeditthe“packageholiday coup”.Nevertheless,as recently

as 2018 Hoare insisted heremained proudof havingbeenadog

of war,and ofhaving“commandedthe legendaryWildGeese”.

Michael

Hoare

1919-2020

JosephShabalala, who has

died aged78, wasthefounder

and leaderofLadysmith

BlackMambazo, thehugely

successfulSouthAfrican vocalgroupthat won

globalrenownafterworkingwithPaulSimon

on hishit 1986 albumGraceland.Inthenextfew

years, theywonfive GrammyAwards,released

more than50 albums and, in 1990, sangat

NelsonMandela’sbirthday,four months after

he wasreleased from prison.

Joseph Shabalalawas broughtup on awhite-

owned farminthe hills of KwaZulu-Natal, near

Ladysmith,where heworked from the age of12.

Evenasaboy,hewas knownfor hi ssingingand

in hi steens ,hemoved toDurban,where hejoin ed

agroup. He foundedhisown group in 1959.

Ladysmithreferred to his home town, blackwas forblack oxen,

“the strongestanimals onthe farm”, whileMambazo is the Zulu

word foraxe, saidThe Guardian.Atf irstthey sang acappella in

aZulustyle calledisicathamiya,but as time wenton, Shabalala

helpedthemrefineanddevelopthis into their unique sound,

which switched “suddenlyand dramaticallyfromstirring, intense

and bass-he avy vocal work to quiet, delicateand almost

whispered passages–matche dwith equally unexpected dance

moves”.The band became hugely successful in SouthAfrica in

the 1970s, singing traditionalsongsaswell as Shabalala’sown

compositions,and in 1979,theywere featured inaBBC

documentaryaboutSouthAfrican music. Paul

Simonsawit,and approachedthemtowork

withhimon hisalbum.Hisprojectproved

deeplycontroversial,asbytravellingtoSouth

AfricahebrokeaUN cultural boycott, but

Shabalalawas gladto beinvolved.“Hecameto

melikeachildaskinghisfather, ‘Can you teach

mesomething?’” herecalled.“Hewassopolite.

Thatwasmyfirst time to hugawhite man.” And

fromhiscell on Robben Island,Mandela refused

to join in thecondemnation,saidThe Times: he

later told Shabalalathat hismusic hadinspired

him, anddescribed the groupas“cultural

ambassado rs” for the RainbowNation.

They recordedtwo songswith Simon –

Homeless,withamelo dy basedonaZulu

weddingsong –andDiamonds on the Soles

of HerShoes,and t ookpartint heGracelandinternationaltour.

After that,they toured theworld themselves,appearedonSesame

StreetandinMichael Jackson’sMoonwalkerfilm,and sang with

DollyParton andStevieWonder. TheyperformedatMandela’s

inauguration in1994,and in frontof the Queenatthe Royal

Albert Hall. ButShabalala’s success di dnot insulatehim from

personaltragedy. His brotherwas murderedin1991 andNellie,

his wifeof three decades,wasshotdead byamasked gunmanin

2002. Another of hisbrothers waskilled in 2004. He is survived
      by hisseco nd wife a nd his foursons, allofwhomjoinedhim in
      Ladysmith BlackMamba zo.

Joseph

Shabalala

1941-2020

Brave mercenary behind the “package holiday coup”

Hoare:hatedcommunists

Shabalala:acultural ambassador

South African musician who collaborated with Paul Simon