Local filmmaker untangles another apartheid activist’s murder

Having dug up the truth and subsequently giving anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol’s family some closure about the real cause of his mysterious death, local acclaimed filmmaker Enver Samuel went on another mission to uncover an intricate death of an exiled stalwart abroad.

The award-winning television producer from Little Falls packed up his cameras and flew across the world on a research mission to document the mysterious assassination of Dulcie Evonne September, an unsung heroine who was murdered in Paris on 29 March 1988.

Following a four-year journey of gathering information from family members across the globe, research and inputs from different institutions, Samuel managed to put together an intriguing two-part documentary titled Murder in Paris which not only talks about the life of Dulcie but goes deep into probing her brutal slaying, with the intention to provoke the reopening of her case in Paris.

This must-watch documentary will premiere at 7.30pm on SABC 3 on Human Rights Day (21 March), followed by the second chapter on 28 March, which is the day before the 33rd commemoration of her death on 29 March.
Speaking about the doccie, Samuel said, “The film had its start in a chance meeting on Freedom Day 2017 in Bern, Switzerland, where I was attending the Visions du Réel Film Festival”.

During the Freedom Day celebration at the South African Embassy, he struck up a conversation with Randolph Arendse whose brother was married to Dulcie’s sister. Randolph had seen Enver’s award-winning documentary about Ahmed Timol called Indians Can’t Fly. By the end of the evening, he had agreed to make a film about Dulcie with the blessing of her family.

He said the film is the culmination of this four-year journey and includes unique footage of the 30-year commemoration of Dulcie’s death, as well as archived images never seen before in South Africa of this little-known liberation heroine.

“Dulcie’s life is a reminder to current-day South Africa that all the sacrifices and struggles of the past were not in vain and that a fair and decent South Africa is still a possibility. Her story needs to be told; it’s a story that will inspire those who strive for democracy and social justice, and it highlight the role of a selfless unsung heroine,” he explained.

Without giving much away, Samuel said that after watching the two episodes he wanted this unsung heroine to be known as she fought for the country’s liberation, and was one of the highest-ranked ANC members to be assassinated outside of Africa.

Quick facts about Duclie

Dulcie was born in Athlone in the Western Cape on 20 August 1935. She was the second eldest daughter of Jakobus and Susan September. Dulcie grew up in Gleemore, a suburb of Cape Town, where she developed her interest in political activism. She was a teacher by profession and eventually became a principal at one stage of her life. She joined a number of movements before joining the ANC. She left South Africa in 1973 for the United Kingdom when her banning order drew closer. In 1979, she was elected chairperson of the IYC Committee of the ANC Women’s Section in London.

At the end of 1983, Dulcie was appointed ANC Chief Representative in France, Switzerland and Luxembourg where her life was cut short. She was assassinated outside the ANC’s Paris office at the age of 52.

Read more about her life by clicking here.