He initiated contact by the Australian Embassy in Pretoria with members of the internal resistance to apartheid,[4] including the Black Consciousness Movement in 1976.
Included amongst the contacts he made at this time were Steve Biko (murdered by police whilst being held in detention in 1977) and Dr. Mamphela Ramphele (Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town and a Director of the World Bank).
Haigh helped banned newspaper editor Donald Woods escape from South Africa into exile in England.
His role in that escape was portrayed by Australian actor John Hargreaves in the film Cry Freedom, produced and directed by Richard Attenborough.
While in Laos, he fell ill and was flown to a hospital in Wollongong, New South Wales, where he died on 7 April 2023, at the age of 77.