Three national servicemen now under arrest in Cape Town on suspicion of contravening the Defence Act are believed to have had information relating to a "dirty tricks" drive aimed at the End Conscription Campaign.
The three – arrested hours before their discharge last week after completing two years' compulsory national service – were apparently close friends who worked at Western Province Command Headquarters in Cape Town's Castle, sources said.
Within the Castle is a section responsible for producing pamphlets and other articles of propaganda, usually identified as emanating from the SADF. When a spate of posters appeared in Cape Town earlier this year, vilifying the ECC and conscientious objector Ivan Toms, speculation was rife that they originated from the same department.
One of the men, the son of a University of the Western Cape academic, was described as a devout Christian who performed military service as a non-combatant, refusing to bear arms or perform duty in townships. A fourth man, a Stellenbosch University philosophy honours student, was arrested with the men but later released. He has said he has "no idea" what charges the others will face.
Police have meanwhile withdrawn from the investigation, which is now being carried out solely by the Defence Force. An SADF representative said this was because police had found it was "a Defence Act matter, as opposed to the Official Secrets Act".
Once the investigation was complete and charges drawn up,the three would appear before a military court, the representative said. "No further details concerning the case will be given until the preliminary investigation is completed"
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
