“Hardegat” O’Sullivan back in SA and in a fighting mood – watch out Myeni
When I met with him in London last week, forensic consultant Paul O'Sullivan seemed edgy. A couple times before our interview started he took calls from an attorney with updates on what was clearly a moving target. O'Sullivan may even have flirted with the idea of not returning to Johannesburg on his scheduled Thursday evening flight. We spoke again, just before boarding, when he was not certain whether there would be policemen waiting at OR Tambo. But O'Sullivan decided to return anyway. He is confident his cause is just and that South Africa's independent legal system will overcome trumped-up charges brought against him by people with whom he had previously crossed swords. When you make a living exposing the bad guys like O'Sullivan does, enemies come with the territory. On the other hand, so does the need to be what Afrikaners term a "hardegat". The closest English translation is "tough nut", someone who is hard-assed, sassy and independent. Or maybe just Irish? As the unrepentant Irish-South African O'Sullivan put it when interviewed by News24's Angelique Serrao: "These crooks, led by dirty cops, have pissed in my beer. Nobody pisses in an Irishman's beer." Now back on home turf, the man who put a spoke in SAA chairman Duduzile Myeni's plundering plans has certainly got his mojo back. – Alec Hogg
By Angelique Serrao