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More than 11 years after his last public appearance, Eugene de Kock — the apartheid-era Vlakplaas death squad commander infamously known as “Prime Evil” — appeared in the Gqeberha high court on Monday under heavy police guard.
The families of the late Cradock Four — Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli — watched tensely as the man once responsible for orchestrating kidnappings, torture and assassinations under the apartheid state faced scrutiny once more.
Implicated as a person of interest in the notorious 1985 murders, De Kock denied direct involvement, claiming his only role had been to change the barrel of a firearm to tamper with ballistics.
De Kock’s courtroom return for the Cradock Four inquest reopened the dark chapters he laid bare during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings, where he confessed to numerous atrocities.
However, together with others, he was granted amnesty for the killings and abductions of ANC and PAC members in Swaziland, Botswana and SA.
Testifying in a packed courtroom on Monday, De Kock, who appeared agitated by the constant objections from the representatives of apartheid state ministers, would at times lash out with emotional responses.
After his affidavit was read out by his lawyer, Juan Schoeman, De Kock said the instruction to bomb Cosatu House in Johannesburg in 1987 had come from his senior, head of counterintelligence, Brigadier Willem Skoon.
He said late apartheid president PW Botha was aware of this.
When a member of the legal team representing the apartheid state ministers interjected to question the relevance of implicating others, De Kock blurted out: “Let’s get the truth out. Let’s not hide the truth.”
De Kock went on to allege that former police general Krappies Engelbrecht was tasked to clean up the evidence of the Cradock Four murders.
When further objections were heard, De Kock pointed a finger directly to the defence lawyers and said “... if [you] thought Botha and the ministers did not know about it, [you are] mistaken”.
This led to judge Nomathamsanqa Beshe instructing De Kock to rather speak through his own attorney.
Throughout his testimony, De Kock maintained that many of the decisions were taken at national level.
Advocate Howard Varney, for the families of the Cradock Four, argued that these incidents linked De Kock, apartheid super spy Craig Williamson, Nicolaas Jacobus Janse van Rensburg and former ministers of law and order Louis le Grange and Andre Vlok, among others.
He said this demonstrated the chain of command and their modus operandi.
Beshe allowed the testimony despite numerous objections from the defence, who argued that some of the implicated people would need to make representations.
But, Varney said, some of the incidents were not in dispute and that those who objected could file affidavits.
He said this would also reveal the details of how some of these incidents were “covered up” by security police.
Varney detailed a number of incidents linked to De Kock and other people of interest, including, among others:
- The targeting of Zwelinzima Nyanda, a former commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe responsible for operations in Natal;
- The planning, abduction, assault and killing of askari Goodwill Sikhakhane in Greytown on January 29 1991;
- Conspiracy to murder the Chand family in Botswana in 1990;
- The 1988 bombing of Khotso House, the headquarters of the SA Council of Churches; and
- The 1982 bombing of ANC offices in London.
While De Kock admitted to all the mentioned incidents, he at times indicated that he unaware of the exact roles of certain individuals.
De Kock also gave a brief testimony about the murders of three police officers during a bombing in Motherwell in 1989.
He said they were killed to prevent them from exposing their operations and those involved in the death of the Cradock Four.
He said Engelbrecht was the master of deception.
Turning to a document titled “Signal”, authored by SA Defence Force officer Lawrence du Plessis, which was sent to the Joint Management Centre for approval, De Kock admitted that the phrase used — “permanent removal” — could only have meant to kill the activists.
However, he said his involvement in the murders went as far as being asked by SA Security Branch officer Captain Johan Martin “Sakkie” van Zyl to change the barrel of a firearm used during the incident to tamper with ballistics.
Asked by advocate Natalie Chesi-Buthelezi, who represents the Goniwe family and the community of Nxuba, if he stood by his testimony at the TRC, De Kock contradicted himself at times.
He said he did not know Goniwe and never dealt with his matter.
In the TRC, however, he admitted to knowing Goniwe but said the slain activist was not politically significant to him.
This prompted Schoeman to ask for an adjournment, saying his client was contradicting himself because he was tired.
Testifying in the inquiry in 2025, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa had also referred to “Signal”, explaining that the wording that the men be permanently removed from society could only be interpreted as that they should be murdered.
After Holomisa’s testimony, a debate centred on if De Kock would take the stand.
At the time, the court heard that he was in hospital with suspected heart failure.
According to versions during previous inquiries and at the TRC, the Cradock Four had attended a meeting in June 1985 with the United Democratic Front in then-Port Elizabeth.
They left the meeting but never made it back home.
They were allegedly detained at a roadblock, held hostage and tortured.
Their charred remains were found near Bluewater Bay a few days later.
Holomisa had been called to the stand to give context to the political situation leading up to the deadly events.
“Signal” author Du Plessis was a liaison officer between the South African Defence Force and the Transkei Defence Force based in then Port Elizabeth.
Holomisa said he had received a call from Du Plessis, who had wanted to share “Signal” with him in 1992.
They met late former president Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg to discuss the document.
Du Plessis, Holomisa said, also shared further documents, including plans made by the apartheid government to remove late Ciskei prime minister Lennox Sebe.
Holomisa said this was also part of state-sponsored “black-on-black violence” to destabilise the country.
After three months, Mandela called him to say it was time for “Signal” to be made public.
“The objective was to inform broader society and the international community that there was a covert war,” Holomisa told the court.
He then leaked “Signal” to New Nation editor Zwelakhe Sisulu to publish the story.
Holomisa said the report gained traction but the apartheid government denied everything
The TRC, he said, later established that there were such clandestine operations, and high-ranking military officers came forward requesting amnesty.
According to him, this was despite the apartheid government and late state president FW de Klerk denying the existence of such operations.
Holomisa also recounted the botched plan to have him assassinated after his Transkei government rejected De Klerk’s advances to align with them.
Similar attempts were made to destabilise his government by the apartheid state using the Lesotho Liberation Army and assassins from Vlakplaas — under De Kock — but these attempts similarly failed.
Despite the TRC reports, testimonials and evidence, Holomisa said many people were not charged for their crimes.
The inquest continues.
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