In South Africa, three men have appeared in court following an alleged attempt to murder the country's opposition leader, Colin Eglin, who leads the left-of-centre Progressive Federal Party. The three accused have been charged under the Terrorism Act, which has usually been invoked against left wingers attempting to overthrow the apartheid system. The three men are acknowledged right-wingers and one of them is president of the Conservative Student's Alliance at the University of Cape Town (U.C.T.). South Africa has seen an increase in right wing terrorism activities in recent years. A former Naval University lecturer was shot dead in January last year and other incidents have ranged from attempted under, arson, assault, petrol bomb attacks and general harassment. Victims have ranged from the radically left to those who are merely thought to oppose the policies of the South African government.

SYNOPSIS: Colin Eglin and his wife live in the elegant Cape Town suburb of Clifton. It was here that gunmen opened fire just after midnight on April the twelfth this year. Two bullets were found embedded in the wall. Police later arrested three men who appeared in court on Wednesday (1 August).

The Conservative Students' Alliance is still an active organisation in Cape Town.

But the National Union of South African Students disputes this.