Apartheid-era officials charged

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa filed attempted murder charges on Monday against two apartheid-era officials for allegedly poisoning a prominent black minister.

Charges were filed against Adriaan Vlok, former minister of law and order, and ex-police chief Johann van der Merwe, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said. Thirteen years after the end of white minority rule, many blacks are bitter about the fact that many senior apartheid enforcers were let off the hook.Vlok, the only former apartheid cabinet minister to testify before the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, received amnesty from prosecution for a series of bombings.”We took a decision to prosecute them and we filed all the necessary paperwork at the Pretoria High Court this morning,” NPA spokesman Panyaza Lesufi said.The case, in which three lower-ranking police officials are also charged, is due to be heard in court on August 17.Hardline former minister Vlok sparked controversy last year when he apologised and washed the feet of Reverend Frank Chikane, the man he is being charged with trying to kill.Chikane accepted the act of humility while others doubted the sincerity of Vlok, who has been criticised for failing to tell everything he knew about the actions of his security forces.Chikane was a high-profile anti-apartheid activist and secretary general of the South Africa Council of Churches in 1989 when his underwear was laced with poison, attacking his nervous system.At the time, doctors said Chikane had been exposed to a substance which caused convulsions, vomiting, blurred vision and breathing difficulties.He is now a trusted adviser of President Thabo Mbeki, serving as director-general of the presidency.Vlok could not be reached for comment and Van der Merwe declined to comment, the South African Press Association said.Former President FW De Klerk said any prosecutions of apartheid-era officials should be approached with sensitivity and even-handedness due to the possible impact on national reconciliation, Sapa added.De Klerk was South Africa’s last white president and won a Nobel Peace prize for his role in fostering racial unity and securing a smooth transition from apartheid to the first all-race poll in 1994.Nampa-ReutersThirteen years after the end of white minority rule, many blacks are bitter about the fact that many senior apartheid enforcers were let off the hook.Vlok, the only former apartheid cabinet minister to testify before the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, received amnesty from prosecution for a series of bombings.”We took a decision to prosecute them and we filed all the necessary paperwork at the Pretoria High Court this morning,” NPA spokesman Panyaza Lesufi said.The case, in which three lower-ranking police officials are also charged, is due to be heard in court on August 17.Hardline former minister Vlok sparked controversy last year when he apologised and washed the feet of Reverend Frank Chikane, the man he is being charged with trying to kill.Chikane accepted the act of humility while others doubted the sincerity of Vlok, who has been criticised for failing to tell everything he knew about the actions of his security forces.Chikane was a high-profile anti-apartheid activist and secretary general of the South Africa Council of Churches in 1989 when his underwear was laced with poison, attacking his nervous system.At the time, doctors said Chikane had been exposed to a substance which caused convulsions, vomiting, blurred vision and breathing difficulties.He is now a trusted adviser of President Thabo Mbeki, serving as director-general of the presidency.Vlok could not be reached for comment and Van der Merwe declined to comment, the South African Press Association said.Former President FW De Klerk said any prosecutions of apartheid-era officials should be approached with sensitivity and even-handedness due to the possible impact on national reconciliation, Sapa added.De Klerk was South Africa’s last white president and won a Nobel Peace prize for his role in fostering racial unity and securing a smooth transition from apartheid to the first all-race poll in 1994.Nampa-Reuters