Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 2 - Chapter 4 Page 4

Shortly thereafter, one of the officials returned and confidentially whispered to me that although the members of the NWC had expressly agreed to the recommendation, they had turned against it, and preferred Thabo instead of Kader. The episode worried me because it led to negative speculation among Comrades. When people agree to an important proposal and later change without raising the matter with you again, then it becomes difficult to challenge the accusation that they had objections which they did not have the courage to put to you; that they knew that the basis of their somersault was against the policy of the organisation. But all of them were well qualified and dependable leaders who had endured a succession of terrible ordeals in their determination to free their country. The episode never affected my confidence in them. The refusal to back Kader was, notwithstanding everything, a democratic one and we accepted it without reservation. 45