Jani Allan

Biography

Jani Allan (11 September 1952 – 25 July 2023) was a South African journalist, columnist, writer, and broadcaster. In 1980, Allan became a columnist for a centrist newspaper, the Sunday Times, South Africa's most widely circulating weekly newspaper. She published columns including Just Jani, Jani Allan's Week, and Face to Face. In 1987, Allan was the top choice in a newspaper commissioned Gallup poll collecting data on "The most admired person in South Africa". In 2015, Marianne Thamm of the Daily Maverick described Allan as having been "the most influential writer and columnist in the country." Allan later became the subject of press interest over the nature of her relationship with an interview subject, Eugène Terre'Blanche. Allan denied allegations of an affair and took an injunction out against Terre'Blanche. Allan left South Africa when her apartment was bombed in 1989. Allan sued and won damages from two British publications that repeated the affair allegations. She filed a libel suit against Channel 4 over Nick Broomfield's documentary, The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife. Broomfield denied raising affair allegations and a team of witnesses was flown in from South Africa to support both sides. Allan lost the suit, with the judge declining to state that anyone had lied in court. After a brief stint working at her newspaper's London bureau, she began writing freelance columns for British publications and published a regular column for Scope. She returned to South Africa in 1996, publishing a sponsored web column and presenting a radio show on Cape Talk. After an extended break she returned to the South African media frame in 2013. In 2014, Allan made headlines around the world after publishing an open letter to accused murderer Oscar Pistorius. Jacana Media published Allan's memoirs, Jani Confidential, on 16 March 2015. She continued to write on a freelance basis for South African publications such as Rapport, the Daily Maverick, Fair Lady and The Big Issue South Africa. She also wrote occasionally for The Epoch Times and RT (formerly Russia Today), the Russian broadcaster and news agency. Allan lived in the United States from 2001 until her death from cancer in 2023.

== Early life == Allan was adopted by a wealthy British-South African couple, John Murray Allan and Janet Sophia Henning, at the age of one month. Allan's adoptive father, a former sub-editor of the Johannesburg daily The Star, died when she was 18 months old. Her mother was an antiques dealer with a store in Randburg. Allan was raised by Henning and her second husband, Walter Eric-Monteith Fry. The couple fostered three more children, one of whom sexually abused Allan. The family lived in Randburg before moving to Bryanston in Sandton. Allan attended Franklin D. Roosevelt Primary School in Roosevelt Park, Johannesburg, as well as Blairgowrie Primary School in Randburg, where one of her contemporaries was the writer Rian Malan. Allan later attended Roedean School and graduated from Greenside High School. She was a trained classical pianist, recorded a televised piano concerto as a child, and made her debut with Johannesburg symphony orchestra at the age of 10. She earned a BA Honours degree in Fine Art at the University of the Witwatersrand where she also obtained an H.E.D. Post-grad Teaching Diploma. British newscaster Michael de Morgan opened the exhibition that was attended by art critic and watercolour artist Richard Cheales.

== Career == Prior to becoming a journalist, Allan worked as a photographic model and an English and Art teacher at Wynberg Boys' High School, Bryanston High School, and Sevenoaks Finishing School. In 1975 she was a finalist in the 1975 Miss South Africa competition, and her photographs were published by the Sunday Times. Allan's first published work was a series of classical music reviews for The Citizen.

=== 1980–1989: Sunday Times === In 1980, Allan was employed by editor Tertius Myburgh to write a column for the Sunday Times, then the nation's biggest-circulating weekly newspaper. Later, in the main body of the Sunday Times newspaper, she also began publishing Radio Jani, her music reviews. She also had a nightly pop news spot on the David Gresham show on Springbok Radio. In 1986 she began publishing Jani Allan's Week in the main newspaper. She would report on parties hosted by South Africa's elite and continue to interview famous figures. A year later Allan was in Mauritius covering the Marlin fishing when the Helderberg South African Airways Flight 295 crashed east of the island. Allan and her colleague Geoff Allan were the first journalists at the airport. The Sunday Times published their joint report on the crash that killed everyone on board. Allan was voted "the most admired person in South Africa" in a Gallup poll commissioned by the Sunday Times in 1987. Daily Maverick writer Marianne Thamm supports this view, describing Allan as "once the most influential writer and columnist in the country." In 1988, her bosses replaced Jani Allan's Week with "Face to Face", a profile column with greater focus on political subjects. As South Africa became increasingly isolated in the international community because of apartheid, she interviewed political players such as Eugène Terre'Blanche, Winnie Mandela, Denis Worrall, and Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

==== Assassination attempt and emigration ==== Following an assassination attempt on her life in 1989, secret service agents advised her to leave South Africa. She resumed work for the Johannesburg newspaper from their London office. In London, Allan launched a new column for the newspaper titled Jani at Large with the tag-line Jani Allan - Reporting from London. After six weeks in London, Allan returned to work at the Johannesburg office. After a week back at work, Allan was asked to hand in her resignation as she had "become the story". Allan's tenure at the newspaper ended in September 1989.

=== 1990–1996: London === By 1990, Allan had become a regular columnist for the South African weekly magazine, Scope, launching the self-titled Jani Allan column from her base in London. At the peak of its success, Scope had the largest circulation of any English-language magazine in South Africa. An article written by Allan on 5 October 1990, volume 25, number 20 in the magazine was presented by the MP Dries Bruwer to the South African parliament in 1991 in support of a legislation issue.

In 1990, she also worked as an occasional society columnist for the (London) Sunday Times, interviewing personalities such as Charlton Heston for the newspaper and publishing opinion pieces for the newspaper. Allan later worked for the SABC broadcaster and journalist Cliff Saunders's London press agency and interviewed South African and European political figures such as Jean-Marie Le Pen. Allan was also published by the London Evening Standard where she published reports on George Carman's latest case, in which Carman was defending The People against a libel case taken by Mona Bauwens. She also wrote for The Spectator where she described Carman as "a small bewigged ferret." She published opinion pieces in the Daily Mail and British conservative magazine The Salisbury Review. She did research for and contributed to the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight. The book that had been embroiled in controversy during the libel case because of its content was titled White Sunset, and had right-wing groups in South Africa as its subject. It was alluded to in 1988 during her association with Terre'Blanche. In 1992 her agent described it to the British media as "a very serious look at the break-up of white society in South Africa" which features "fly-on-the-wall reportage". Several chapters had been seen and cover art had been developed but the project was ultimately not pursued. She had also completed Fast Cars to Ventersdorp, a satirical look at her involvement with Terre'Blanche. It was compared to the style of Tom Sharpe and in the foreword she explained that she had written it because "I want to leave the past behind me." In 1995, she gave a primetime interview to SABC.

=== 1996–2001: return to South Africa === Allan's return to South Africa in 1996 was marked by an appearance on the cover of Style magazine and an in-depth interview. In the same year she took up a position as a host on Cape Talk Radio, a Cape Town-based radio show, and launched her show Jani's World, which aired on Friday evenings between 9 p.m. and midnight. Well-known political and entertainment figures appeared on her show including former SADF Chief turned politician Constand Viljoen, the last Prime Minister of Rhodesia, Ian Smith, and American film actress Faye Dunaway. The Mail & Guardian praised the way in which the "no guts no glory" content creates a refreshing, witty forum". Soon after establishing the radio show in Cape Town, she was contracted by MWEB to launch the website "CyberJani" with a weekly column, letters page and live chatline. The stated mission of the column was to provide "all the truth that is unfit to print and equally offensive to the left, the right and the centre". Allan tackled a variety of subjects such as Affirmative action and gender issues. She also published a social diary. In 1998, Allan appeared in the SABC documentary film, Red Jacket to discuss the South Africa-based Russian artist, Vladimir Tretchikoff known for painting the Chinese Girl. In the same year she made another screen appearance as a Parisian model in the Pieter-Dirk Uys comedy, Going Down Gorgeous. Allan's radio show, Jani's World, became one of the station's most popular, but attracted controversy in September 1999 when Allan interviewed American right-winger Keith Johnson of the Militia of Montana. Johnson expressed several controversial and offensive opinions. Allan distanced herself from Johnson's views and apologised for the offense caused to Jewish listeners. Due to the negative reaction from individual listeners and from the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the station was instructed to issue an apology two days later. Allan left the radio station in October 2000. From 2000 to 2001, she was a speechwriter for Buthelezi.