RODDA, Peter (Gordon) 1937-2003

(Richard Tudhope)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born August 5, 1937, in Piet Retief, South Africa; died March 28, 2003, in London, England. Educator, political activist, and author. Rodda was a noted anti-apartheid activist and playwright. During his student years spent at the universities of Natal and Cape Town, he became a member of South Africa's liberal party and wrote for student magazines and newspapers, sometimes penning satirical pieces attacking the political right. He also wrote poetry, contributing verses to Ophir under the pseudonym Richard Tudhope. After college Rodda became a high school teacher in Natal and, later, a lecturer in English at Rhodes University and the University of South Africa. His association with the liberal party and the Communist Congress of Democrats, as well as his strong stance against apartheid, led the South African government to imprison and interrogate him in 1964. Rodda subsequently managed to leave his native country and move to England, where he found a teaching job in Hertfordshire and began writing plays about his South African experiences. These works include The Time of Breaking (1975), Tiger's Night (1977), Bush People, and Biko, the last of which was cowritten with Alton Kumalo. Unfortunately, later in his life Rodda suffered from mental illness—some have speculated that it was a result of his imprisonment—that ended his writing career.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Independent (London, England), April 15, 2003, p. 18.