Reg Austin obituary

"Reg Austin, who has died aged 91, played a key role in the transition to democracy in countries such as Cambodia, East Timor and Afghanistan through UN electoral missions in the 1990s. His most longstanding political commitment, however, was to the liberation and security of his home country of Zimbabwe."

"The son of white settlers in what was the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia, Reg took the rare step in 1961 of joining the original African political party, Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (Zapu), founded by Joshua Nkomo. Reg became one of Zapu's lawyers, giving advice on how to handle the British government as well as the rival liberation party, Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu), of Robert Mugabe, which was founded two years later."

"It was while studying at Cape Town University that Reg became fully aware of the racist structures he had grown up in. Mass protests against apartheid were breaking out in South Africa and demands for decolonisation were sweeping through the African continent. When he returned to his home city of Bulawayo after graduating in 1958, he saw Rhodesia with new eyes."

"Training as a prosecutor, he realised that the programme for separate development he had witnessed in South Africa was playing out too in Rhodesian courtrooms. His first case was in a team seeking the convictions of freedom fighters, including Nkomo, a charismatic trade union leader. Having to prosecute these admirable men opened my mind, he said."

Reg Austin, a lawyer and elections expert, died aged 91 after contributing to democratic transitions in Cambodia, East Timor, and Afghanistan through UN electoral missions in the 1990s. His primary political commitment centered on Zimbabwe’s liberation and security. Born to white settlers in Southern Rhodesia, he joined the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (Zapu) in 1961, a rare step for a white settler, and became one of Zapu’s lawyers. He advised on dealing with the British government and the rival Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu). He remained a loyal confidant of Joshua Nkomo until Nkomo’s death in 1999. His legal work included prosecuting freedom fighters, which deepened his understanding of racist structures and separate development.

Read at www.theguardian.com