The prosecution of apartheid-era politicians in the past week has drawn mixed reactions from our polarised society.

The prosecution of apartheid-era politicians in the past week has drawn mixed reactions from our polarised society.

While many believe that the prosecution is long overdue, others feel this move could fuel racial hatred in the country.

I agree that both sides have a point, but I believe that there is a third way: many apartheid-era politicians now seek inner peace within their souls, without success.

Their souls wander like birds of the skies with no branch to perch. Every time they find a tree to perch on, they are driven away by their sins and must wander aimlessly. This restlessness drove former security policeman Gideon Niewoudt out into the open. By the time he died, everybody felt sorry for him.

Now Adriaan Vlok has been forced to come out into the open. Like an aimless wanderer, he moves around the country in search of a branch to perch. Let us hope that the courts will offer him the opportunity to confess, to purge his soul of all the evils that he and his subordinates committed while entrusted with the safety of all citizens.

Many of us in South Africa need the peace that Vlok and Johan van der Merwe are now chasing after.

Our democratic government should start investing in peace at all cost, otherwise we will repeat history. Vlok and his comrades need their day in court, so until then, let us be patient.

Malose Nyatlo, Johannesburg