De Kock links Motherwell to Goniwe murder

Eugene de Kock, the former Vlakplaas commander, on Thursday linked the 1989 Motherwell bombing to the earlier murder of activist Mathew Goniwe and three others, known as the Cradock Four, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported.

De Kock was testifying at the Gideon Nieuwoudt Truth and Reconciliation Committee amnesty hearing in Port Elizabeth.

He said three policemen were killed at Motherwell because they apparently knew too much about the Goniwe killing.

Nieuwoudt and two other former security policemen are seeking amnesty for the Motherwell murders, in which three policemen and an askari were killed.

On the Motherwell Four matter, De Kock says he was asked by his senior to assist Nieuwoudt to eliminate three men as they were involved in fraud.

He objected to killing for fraud, but was then told by his senior, Snor van Rensburg, that there were also fears that the three would speak out about the Goniwe murder.—Sapa