Abraham Williams (born 12 December 1940) is a retired South African politician from the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

. He was the last

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

-era

Minister of Sport A Ministry of Sports or Ministry of Youth and Sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. The Ministry of Youth and Spo ...

from 1993 to 1994 and then was the first post-apartheid Minister of Welfare and Population Development from 1994 to 1996. Latterly a member of the National Party (NP) and New National Party (NNP), Williams served in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

until August 2000, when he was convicted of

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

and incarcerated. He served one year of a three-year prison sentence before receiving parole in September 2001.

Early life and career

Born on 12 December 1940, Williams was formerly a prominent

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

administrator. Designated as

Coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

under apartheid, he served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, the all-Coloured house of the

Tricameral Parliament The Tricameral Parliament, officially the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, was the legislature of South Africa between 1984 and 1994, established by the South African Constitution of 1983, which gave a limited political voice to t ...

, where he was a member of the Ministers' Council. In February 1993, President

F. W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...

announced that he had appointed Williams to his cabinet in a reshuffle, naming him as Minister of Sport. He and two others appointed at the same time –

Jac Rabie Jacobus Albert Rabie (August 1938 – 29 April 2008) was a South African politician who was Minister for Population Development under President F. W. de Klerk from 1993 to 1994. He served in the apartheid-era House of Representatives througho ...

and Bhadra Ranchod – became the first non-white politicians to serve in the South African cabinet, in a move viewed as an attempt by de Klerk's party, the NP, to broaden its appeal ahead of the upcoming multiracial elections. In May 1993, Williams told the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', "I think Coloureds have great respect for elsonMandela, but we fear the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

Post-apartheid political career

Minister of Welfare: 1994–1996

In the 1994 general election, Williams was elected to represent the NP in the new multi-racial National Assembly. In addition, newly elected President Nelson Mandela appointed Williams to his multi-party

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

as Minister of Welfare and Population Development. The ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cultu ...

'' was highly critical of Williams's performance in that portfolio: for two consecutive years in 1994 and 1995, the newspaper awarded Williams's work a score of two out of ten, quipping that Williams had "shown a keen interest in welfare – his own".

Backbencher: 1996–2000

In February 1996, less than two years into the legislative term, Williams's homes and offices in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

were raided by law enforcement officers, who said that they were at an early stage of a

investigation. Later the same day, Williams tendered his resignation from the cabinet, though he emphasised that his resignation was not an admission of guilt. He remained an ordinary Member of Parliament and was re-elected to a second term in his seat in the 1999 general election, serving the Western Cape constituency. However, the law enforcement investigation continued , and after Williams's criminal conviction, he left his parliamentary seat on 14 August 2000, ceding his seat to

Johnny Schippers Johannes "Johnny" Schippers (29 June 1943 – 31 January 2009) was a South African politician from the Western Cape. A former teacher, he served in the National Assembly from 2000 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2009. He was a member of the New Nati ...

Fraud conviction

In June 1999, shortly after the second democratic elections, Williams was charged with several counts of fraud and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

. The charges pertained to his time as a member of the Ministers' Council in the House of Representatives: he was accused of having accepted

kickbacks A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time. The kickback ...

from two companies which did business with the state. He was also charged with

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

, in connection with political donations that he had accepted for his community work on the Cape West Coast but had allegedly used for private purposes instead. The NNP said that he would retain his parliamentary seat until the trial was concluded, though he resigned as deputy chairman of the NNP caucus in Parliament. In June 2000, the

Cape High Court The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over th ...

convicted Williams on 36 counts of theft (in connection with an amount of R268,142 in donations) and four counts of fraud (in connection with an amount of R240,112). He was handed a suspended sentence for the theft convictions but was sentenced to three years in prison on the fraud charges. His appeals were unsuccessful, and his prison sentence began in early September 2000. Williams served just over a year in

Pollsmoor Prison Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous c ...

before he was paroled in September 2001. Upon his release, he would not comment on his professional plans, saying, "I've always been a community man and I will try to serve my community irrespective of whether or not I am in politics". He gave a partial account of his actions:

If I must say sorry, then I apologise to communities I might have hurt, and the world. I made mistakes and I paid the price. I have no regrets about going to prison... It was not my intention to pocket the money. Although most of the money I used was spent on political-party work, the law found me guilty of fraud. I accept that.

References

Living people 21st-century South African politicians 20th-century South African politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa National Party (South Africa) politicians 1940 births Coloureds South African politicians convicted of fraud {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Abe