I am in the bush at the
moment and was in process of putting together a blog about the sounds I hear
every morning when I wake up. Then
I read a news report about a man whose name is Eugene de Kock, known widely as
Prime Evil.
He was serving a 212-year prison
sentence - until a few days ago, when he was granted parole.
My initial reaction was
disgust. Everything about De Kock
and his crimes is sickening. Let
me explain.
Apparently he was a quiet
boy, who loved music. He was “not
a violent person” said his brother, Vossie. Yeah, yeah!
After school he tried to
join the South African military a couple of times, but was rejected for various
physical reasons – a stutter on one occasion, and poor eyesight on
another. Undaunted, he joined the
South African Police and was involved in the Rhodesian Civil War, attempting to
prevent incursions into South Africa by members of the black nationalist
forces.
In 1979, he co-founded an
organisation called Koevoet, whose purpose was to prevent incursions into South
West Africa (now Namibia), which South Africa administered, by members of the
South West Africa Freedom Party, which was trying to gain self-determination
for the country. They were based in Angola.
This was also at
the time South Africa was assisting the National Union for the Total Independence
of Angola (UNITA) in the Angolan civil war. South African forces were heavily
involved in that conflict.
Koevoet rapidly gained a
reputation for its brutal methods and high kill rate.
In 1983, De Kock joined a South
African Police counter-insurgency group headquartered at a farm called
Vlakplaas, near Pretoria. In 1985, he was promoted to head the unit.
The purpose of the unit at Vlakplaas was to hunt down and kill opponents
of apartheid - which he did most effectively.
Appearing before the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), after the government became democratic in 1994, he admitted to a large number of murders
and other crimes and, per the charter of the commission, was pardoned.
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| Eugene de Kock |
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| Eugene de Kock at Truth and Reconciliation Commission |
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| Eugene de Kock |
However, the TRC’s charter
was only to hear crimes with a political background. So De Kock was then tried for eighty-nine crimes against
humanity, including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, illegal
possession of firearms, and sixty-three counts of fraud. In 1996, he was convicted and sentenced
to 212 years in jail.
Last Friday, he was paroled
to very mixed reactions. Justice
Minister, Michael Masutha, said that it was time to bury the past. He also said that De Kock would
cooperate in finding the remains of many of his victims. Others felt that his crimes had been so
heinous that he should be kept inside for the full term of his sentence.
Notably, but not really
surprising to those who know him, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who led the TRC, said the
release of De Kock represented a milestone on South Africa’s road to
reconciliation and healing.
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| My two heroes |
“I
pray that those whom he hurt,” Archbishop Tutu said, “those from whom he took
loved ones, will find the power within them to forgive him. Forgiving is
empowering for the forgiver and the forgiven – and for all the people around
them. But we can’t be glib about
it; it’s not easy.
“De
Kock deserves to be released on the basis that he has served a relatively
lengthy term of imprisonment, he has apologised to and sought the forgiveness
of many of his victims, and he has for some time given all the appearance (from
what we have seen) of being ready for rehabilitation.
“As
human beings we have unique capacities to reconcile, to forgive, to move on and
to love again. While many may not
welcome De Kock back into society with open arms, the fact that we have allowed
for his return is to our collective credit, as people and as a nation.”
I
admire Bishop Tutu immensely and found myself challenged by his belief in
forgiveness for De Kock. Yet I
have no doubt that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was one of the most civilised
events in history and was fundamental to the fact that South Africa survived an
amazing transition. On the other
hand, De Kock was Evil personified.
I don’t believe in the death penalty, but a life in prison was tame
compared to what he did to others.
So
I find myself very conflicted by the parole. Initially I was dead against it, but I am also moved by
Bishop Tut’s reasoning and compassion.
So what do you, dear
readers, think of the parole? Where
do you fall on the compassion index for crimes in extremis?
Stan – Thursday
PS. I just came upon a report in Times
Live, which suggests that the whole issue may not be over. Apparently, De Kock was involved in
starting two businesses while in prison, as well as serving as a director of
several others started before he went to jail.
According
to James Selfie of the opposition Democratic Alliance party, "You
are not allowed to conduct any form of remunerated activity while serving a
prison sentence. You cannot go
into business.”
Contravention
of this could lead to a revocation of parole as happened in another famous case
– that of the Waterkloof Four.
The
Ministry of Justice is investigating!
