Notorious apartheid police commander ‘Prime Evil’ testifies at South African hearing on killings

South Africa’s notorious apartheid police commander Eugene de Kock testified Monday in an ongoing inquiry into one of the nation’s most shocking apartheid-era crimes: the 1985 killing of the “Cradock Four” activists.

De Kock, now 77 and once dubbed “Prime Evil” for his role in state-sanctioned violence, denied direct involvement in the killings while revealing disturbing details about apartheid-era policing practices. According to his testimony, security forces maintained photographs of approximately 6,000 anti-apartheid activists classified as “known terrorists” who were to be tracked and killed if arrest wasn’t feasible.

The Cradock Four—Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sicelo Mhlauli, and Sparrow Mkonto—were abducted at a police roadblock, killed, and their bodies burned. Three of them were teachers. De Kock claimed they weren’t among the tracked activists but testified that one police officer implicated in their deaths had approached him seeking help with a cover-up, asking if he “could get another firearm” and “interfere with the ballistics.”

De Kock appeared at the court in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) under police guard, with his image blurred during the official broadcast following a judge’s ruling. The Foundation for Human Rights, representing some victims’ families, confirmed these protective measures.

The current inquiry represents the third investigation into the Cradock Four case. Previous inquiries during the apartheid era have been widely regarded as deliberate cover-ups. The first, beginning in 1987, concluded the men were killed by “unknown people,” while a 1993 investigation determined they were killed by “unnamed police officers”—neither providing accountability or justice for the families.

The latest inquiry, which began in 2023 after sustained pressure from the victims’ families, aims to finally deliver answers and justice nearly four decades after the killings. The six former policemen implicated in the murders were never prosecuted despite being identified and denied amnesty during South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation process in the late 1990s. All six have since died.

De Kock’s testimony provides a rare glimpse into the apartheid regime’s systematic violence. As commander of a counterinsurgency police unit, he was sentenced in 1996 to two life terms plus 212 years for murder, kidnapping, and other charges related to abducting, torturing, and killing anti-apartheid activists. He was controversially released on parole in 2015.

South Africa has recently renewed its commitment to addressing unresolved apartheid-era crimes. Authorities have reopened investigations into several high-profile cases, including the 1967 death of Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Luthuli, the 1981 killing of human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge, and the 1977 death in police custody of iconic anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko.

This renewed focus on apartheid-era crimes comes as South Africa continues to grapple with its painful past. Last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a separate inquiry to determine whether post-apartheid governments led by the African National Congress intentionally obstructed investigations and prosecutions of apartheid-era crimes—a move that acknowledges persistent questions about political will to pursue justice.

The Cradock Four case remains emblematic of the brutality of the apartheid regime and the ongoing struggle for truth and accountability in South Africa. For the families of the victims, the current inquiry represents perhaps their last opportunity for closure and justice after decades of institutional delays and obfuscation.

As the inquiry continues, it underscores South Africa’s complex relationship with its past and the challenges of national reconciliation in a society still bearing the scars of systematic racial oppression and political violence.