Vlakplaas

The names of Eugene de Kock, Dirk Coetzee and Joe Mamasela have become household names in South Africa the last few years. So has the name Vlakplaas, the farm where these efficient killers had their base. The secret of the so-called successful death squad was the use of a group of men and women ...

Successive states of emergency created an environment where secret units of the security forces flourished. Units like the shady Civil Cooperation Bureau and the police death squads at Vlakplaas were formed.

In April 1990 a large squad of Vlakplaas operatives and Western Transvaal security police led by Eugene de Kock set off on a midnight mission into Botswana. Their target was the home and shop of Sam Chan also referred to as Kahn. This week Wouter Mentz sought amnesty for his role in the murders of ...

... newspaper and one police contacted us after seeing her picture on the newspaper and said he knew that girl, because he kept guard at that girl in Vlakplaas police station. And the last time that police saw Nokuthula, Nokuthula was ill and she was severely and brutally ...

the secret message sent to arch assassin Eugene de Kock a day after the massacre. All these bear the hallmarks of a more sinister puppet master, the Vlakplaas death squads, designed to eliminate activists and cadres. ...

Grim and gory details of Vlakplaas murders, abductions and cross border operations emerged again this week. Dirk Coetzee, Almond Nofemela and David Tshikalanga who are applying for amnesty for a range of atrocities continue to spill the sordid tales of South Africa’s secret death farm.

... by the discovery of this huge arms cash near Krugersdorp. But it was not an ANC’s arms cash as the generals claimed. Eugene de Kock says his Vlakplaas unit had in fact been asked to supply the weapons that were then planted. It was done in order for the SADF to justify their second attack ...

Mamasela is a self confessed killer. He’s one of the Vlakplaas operatives who took part in the Pebco Three operation. He has not applied for amnesty but will testify before the Truth Commission once all the amnesty applicants have been heard. He has a very different account of the killings.

... for. It was not the only element of the third force, the army special forces took part in train violence in the 1980s as part of a third force. And Vlakplaas and the army’s Directorate Covert Collection also acted as a third force in attacks such as the Boipatong massacre. We can only hope that ...

... they got wind of the police bus attack from two informers who had infiltrated the cell. // When were you given a description of the askaris from Vlakplaas who were with this man? // As far as I can recall we weren’t given any description we were just told that there were two informers with ...

out used their usefulness. They have outlived their usefulness. In other words they were not productive and the only way for one to be productive at Vlakplaas is to kill people. Vusi died, he refused to cooperate. Peter died, because he was useless according to them, he outlived his usefulness. ...

... Harold Snyman, Hermanus du Plessis, Johan van Zyl, Gideon Niewoudt and Gerhardus Lotz are asking for amnesty for the murder of the Pebco Three. Vlakplaas operatives Roelf Venter, Gert Beeslaar, Kimpani Mogoai and Johannes Koole are applying for their ...

the Truth Commission whether politicians like Adriaan Vlok and PW Botha knew of and ordered certain operations. General Engelbrecht was known as the Vlakplaas sweeper. He was the policeman who had to cover up police death squad operations investigated by the Harms Commission in 1990. He was ...

... the planning because for the future those type of plans may be used again, so I can’t divulge information regarding that. But the people waited, Vlakplaas members with Piet Retief members, for the people to infiltrate. And what happened is that the people, obviously being armed, when they ...

... shocks, smothering with a wet bag over the head or decide to work for the security police with benefits like proper pay and a luxury life on Vlakplaas. So it’s obvious, it’s human that you would choose the easy way ...

... this past week to talk about their role in a shooting spree in Nyanga in March 1986. In a day of high drama it was revealed for the first time that Vlakplaas members were involved in the gruesome execution of seven young men from Gugulethu ten years ...

... country, but in the Western Cape their record was poor and this man, Capt Riaan Bellingan was dispatched from the special counter-terrorism unit at Vlakplaas to help Cape Town security police improve their intelligence gathering network and their counter-terrorism ...

At about the same time Vlakplaas had launched a huge manhunt for Odirile Maponya, a high ranking MK guerrilla. During the search Eugene de Kock killed his younger brother, Japie Maponya with a spade. Stanza’s mother and two brothers, visibly upset by this late confirmation of his death believe ...

Allegations of security force involvement in the East Rand violence have never gone away. A third force and Vlakplaas operatives were alleged to be fanning the fires of war, but the most often heard allegation was that the police gave Inkatha guns and protection. In this ANC video police drop off ...

Casselton did not disappear. He went to live on Vlakplaas where his friend, Eugene de Kock looked after him. It was during this time, De Kock claims, that Craig Williamson wanted him to kill Casselton.