Stefaans Brummer
A CHARGE of theft is being investigated against Dirk Coetzee, the former Vlakplaas commander who exposed police hit squads, in what Coetzee believes is a campaign of revenge against him.
Coetzee was informed on February 1 that Middelburg police were investigating a charge that he had stolen R6 000 from a man in nearby Hendrina on July 7 1989.
Coetzee this week said he was told the complainant had claimed Coetzee had offered him a bakkie for sale, took the money as payment, but left without handing over the
Coetzee maintains he has a water-tight alibi — he helped out at Johannesburg’s Kyalami race track, hundreds of kilometres from Middelburg, that week. He said he had numerous witnesses of his presence at the race track that whole day, and that a professional photographer still had a photograph he had taken of Coetzee at Kyalami.
Coetzee said he believed the charge was “manufactured” by his enemies in the police who “will never forget Dirk Coetzee the traitor”, and that it was part of a larger campaign, which included disinformation fed to the media. “When are these guys ever going to stop? They sow the seeds of suspicion and even when I prove my innocence, the harm has been done.”
Coetzee said he believed the resurrection of the “campaign” against him stemmed from his role in leaking widely-reported affidavits to the media late last year, in which claims were made, among others, of police involvement in the bombing of Khotso House, and former Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok’s knowledge of the
The ensuing furore ultimately led to a government crisis early this year when it was revealed Vlok and 3 500 policemen had applied for indemnities shortly before the election.
Coetzee first rose to fame/notoriety in 1989 when he went public with confessions and allegations of hit squad activities at the police Vlakplaas unit, of which he is a former commander.
Coetzee this week also made a complaint to the Media Council, protesting about a story in Rapport on January 22, which claimed that Coetzee was on a “crusade” to convince policemen to confess to dirty tricks.
The Afrikaans weekly reported that police commanders were angry about Coetzee’s visits to police stations, where he “intimidated” policemen to make statements. Coetzee strongly denies he has visited police stations to convince serving members to make statements.
As if, as he sees it, a trumped-up charge and false information published in the media is not enough, Coetzee was last week informed he was not welcome anymore at the International Police Association (IPA) club in Pretoria, a popular police hang-out.
A letter containing the club’s decision says it was made “as a result of pressure from IPA members”.
President of the IPA’s South Africa branch is Basie Smit, former deputy commissioner of police, who was forced out after the Goldstone Commission’s Third Force revelations last year.