Apartheid Assassin Gets Life Terms
PRETORIA, South Africa — A former security police colonel who once described himself as the apartheid government’s most efficient assassin was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday.
Eugene de Kock, the highest-ranking officer convicted so far for apartheid crimes, was sentenced to two life terms for six murders.
In addition, De Kock was sentenced to 212 years in prison for his other crimes, which ranged from conspiracy to bombing and fraud.
There remains a chance, however, that De Kock will not have to serve any significant prison time.
He faces a hearing before South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission next year.
The panel has the authority to grant amnesty and overrule the criminal courts.
De Kock’s testimony, in which he admitted committing a slew of crimes and implicated superiors, including a former president, was seen as an effort to gain leniency from the commission.
De Kock headed a covert police unit that killed and tortured anti-apartheid activists. He testified during a pre-sentencing hearing that his superiors, including then-President P.W. Botha, had ordered the attacks. Botha has not responded to De Kock’s claims.
Reacting to the sentence, the ruling African National Congress called on the white-led National Party to disclose past state secrets.
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