Eugene De Kock Says Apartheid Leaders Ordered Hit on Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africans Debate Claim
- Former Apartheid police commander Eugene de Kock before the High Court in Gqeberha about a list of people he was asked to kill
- The former commander of the notorious Vlakplaas death squad noted that President Cyril Ramaphosa's name was on the list as well
- South Africans weighed in on de Kock's claims, with some doubting how legitimate they were, saying that Ramaphosa wasn't a threat
Source: Getty Images
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
EASTERN CAPE – Former Apartheid police commander Eugene de Kock has testified that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s name was on a list of people he was ordered to kill.
De Kock made the admission before the High Court in Gqeberha, where he was testifying at the reopened inquest into the Cradock Four murders.
The inquest is looking into the deaths of Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto, Sicelo Mhlauli and Fort Calata, who were abducted and killed in 1985 by the South African government’s Security Branch and members of the notorious Vlakplaas death squad.
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What did de Kock say?
During his testimony, de Kock denied having played any role in the murder of the Cradock Four but did admit that his higher-ups gave him a list of 33 people who were targeted for assassination. One of those names was Ramaphosa’s.
The former Vlakplaas commander added that he refused the order and even challenged the directive because he said Ramaphosa was innocent.
“The higher-ups, those who gave the orders, wanted a lot of people shot and killed.
“My attitude was: why don’t you kill them yourself? I had a list of 33 people, amongst those names, were that of the current president of the country. They wanted him dead, and I said he is not a terrorist,” de Kock explained.
South Africans divided by de Kock’s claims
Social media users weighed in on de Kock’s claims, sharing varied reactions to them.
Walter Matebesi asked:
“Who ordered Chris Hani’s assassination?”
Serame Motshoni questioned:
“And then what went wrong?”
Mike Haywood Woodhouse said:
“Anglo American and Glencore needed Cyril more.”
Freeman Batyi also asked:
“Who ordered Hani's hit?”
Moguy O'lekker added:
“They want to make us believe that Cupcake wasn't a puppet.”
Mysterio Wong Fei Hung said:
“Cyril was, is and will never be a threat.”
Teekay Moreri agreed:
“Why would anyone kill Cyril? Nahhh, Ramaphosa killed for what? Shame. Jokes, mxm.”
Thabo Monare stated:
“During those days when the ANC was still banned, we saw Ramaphosa also playing a magnificent role in politics, in the mines. He refused bribes from the previous government when he was at the forefront of the union of mine workers' strikes. He was one of the targeted, but he was also an untouchable like Desmond Tutu. Those who didn't know about him accompanying Mandela and Winnie from Pollsmoor then, they were still very small boys.”
Moeketsi Moletsane suggested:
“Lol, Ramaphosa promised him millions to say this. He wanted to remove that ‘sell out’ tag from himself.”
Siphiwe Biyela stated:
“He's lying. Why would a spy be on the radar of Apartheid?
ANC government paid R200,000 monthly to care for de Kock
Briefly News reported that the African National Congress government reportedly paid a hefty sum to look after de Kock.
The Commission was told that a staggering R200,000 a month was spent on the former Apartheid police commander.
The testimony was given by individuals who opted to withhold their true identities.
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Source: Briefly News
