Mduduzi ka Harvey
Members of the South African Police Intelligence Unit had to try twice before managing to bomb Khotso House in central Johannesburg, headquarters of the South African Council of Churches, in 1988.
Affidavits by former Intelligence Unit members in the possession of the Weekly Mail & Guardian tell a story of careful planning, specially-designed explosives and repeated attempts to bomb the building.
The first attempt failed because at the time the bombs were to be planted and detonated, there were too many people milling around the vicinity.
The idea to blow up Khotso House was the brainchild of a police intelligence major, named in an affidavit, who felt he had to stifle the kind of work done at the building.
The mission, according to the affidavits, was discussed at a briefing session at a house in Honeydew called by Intelligence Unit members and attended by six high-ranking South African Police officials. Those present were told their mission was to blow up Khotso House.
Explosives which consisted of TM57 landmines and Russian TNT pellets were prepared for the mission. The specialists stressed to the crew the importance of placing the explosives against the pillars in the basement of the building, so as to secure maximum damage.
The crew was divided into two groups: the “penetration group” would enter the building and set up the explosives, while the “stop-gap” group would prevent patrolling police from entering. Their duty also entailed making sure no one was suspicious of what was going on inside while the penetration group was at work.
At midnight, posts were taken, but the arrangements misfired as the city centre was very busy. The captain in charge was forced to call the mission off.
Back at the base in Honeydew, the captain told the crew he would call upon a colonel from Vlakplaas, who is named in the documents, to help them in their next attempt.
When the same crew congregated in Honeydew a few days later, the colonel took control of the operation.
A combi transported the “penetration group” members into the city centre, while the others travelled in a Laurel and Ford Sierra. Drivers kept in contact via radio.
The documents say the “stop-gap” vehicles parked between Khotso House and Johannesburg station, keeping a vigilant watch, while the “penetration group” worked in the Khotso House basement. In minutes they were out and both groups drove off, regrouping at a parking area near the Braamfontein Hotel. They had hardly settled down when they heard and felt the explosion.
With their mission accomplished the group left for Honeydew, and a braai.
A few days later, at a function at Vlakplaas — attended, according to the affidavits, by generals and other senior officials — the minister of police delivered a speech congratulating the crew for their success. He said the building had been reduced to rubble — a heap of bricks. One of the officers “shushed” him in an effort to prevent him from saying too much in the presence of others.
A few days after the bombing, a Sandton warrant officer, named in the affidavits, gave Pretoria headquarters a fictitious declaration obtained from a black taxi driver who said he had seen a white man and woman with a suitcase in the vicinity of Khotso House. A ficticious identikit was composed.
According to the affidavits, while the rubble was being cleared at Khotso House, books belonging to the son of a prominent priest were found in one of the vehicles which had been parked in the basement. He was being sought for alleged involvement in acts of terrorism, and the books were confiscated as exhibits.