Paul Erasmus describes his initiation into ‘dirty=20 tricks’ against the left. This is the first of a=20 series of extracts from his manuscript
Not long after I joined the security police (in January=20 1977), I was told by my colleagues and superiors,=20 including section head Major JHL Jordaan and=20 lieutenants At Kellerman (who later became President PW=20 Botha’s bodyguard) and Neville Els (who later became=20 rugby supremo Louis Luyt’s bodyguard) that the=20 monitoring of suspects included putting pressure on=20 them, often in unlawful ways. Shortly after I started=20 on the staff, Jordaan sounded me out about how I felt=20 on such matters. I had heard about these activities=20 and, well, if they were sanctioned by senior officers=20 it was acceptable to me.
“You know, Paul, that the jong manne go out a lot at=20 night and sometimes they make a bit of kak. I must warn=20 you, though, that if you ever go with them, you must=20 never get caught. You must realise what damage can be=20 done to us if these verdomde (cursed) left-wingers ever=20 find out that it’s us. You must also be careful of the=20 Uniform Branch and the detectives who might try to make=20 a name for themselves by nailing a security policeman.=20
I soon learned that the “bit of kak” he was referring=20 to included acts like ordering unwanted supplies for=20 suspects, killing their pets, throwing bricks through=20 their windows, and damaging vehicles — relatively=20 harmless and something which I thought Jordaan saw as=20 morale-boosting for the staff. However, the official=20 mindset at the time was that the country was better off=20 without “these people” and every effort was made to=20 encourage them to leave permanently. I suppose this was=20 part of the laager mentality: get the traitors out of=20 our midst and we could carry on and win the battle=20 against the blacks.
There was also the perception, which prevailed for=20 years to come, that the black struggle for liberation=20 was masterminded by the white liberals, communists, the=20 left-wing English press, and other assorted traitors.=20
Each staff member was given a group of suspects to=20 monitor and my number one priority was Gavin Anderson,=20 a prominent trade unionist who had been banned and who=20 I was told to harass in every way possible. Anderson, a=20 big blond fellow, was banned and stayed in Auckland=20 Park. I would visit him regularly, sometimes night=20 after night, and at all hours knock on his door and ask=20 him stupid questions like, “Are you alone Gavin?” or,=20 “I’m just popping in to make certain that you haven’t=20 run away yet.”
On one of these visits he was actually so mad that I=20 thought he was going to take a swing at me — I got=20 quite a fright, he was obviously a very fit and=20 powerful guy.=20
But the tactic worked as Anderson later illegally fled=20 the country for Botswana and a warrant was issued for=20 his arrest.=20
One of the first attacks I participated in was on the=20 home of Ilona Kleinschmidt, wife of Dr Horst=20 Kleinschmidt, one of the directors of the Christian=20 Institute (banned in October 1977), in Melville.=20 Colleagues and I scrounged left-over paint from our=20 respective garages, which we poured into plastic bags=20 and in the early hours of the morning threw them over=20 Ilona’s vehicles and the front facade of her home. We=20 painted a couple of slogans like “Shun Chetty is a …”=20 (I was going to write cunt but somehow thought it was=20 inappropriate) and a hammer and sickle.
The following day we were heartened to find that one of=20 the Afrikaans daily newspapers had headlined the=20 incident, complete with photos of our artwork. We were=20 told the following day that in an attack on the=20 Kleinschmidt’s residence the year before, an=20 enterprising and civic minded neighbour had opened fire=20 with a high-powered rifle and nearly shot Kellerman.=20
There were other, softer targets — without gun-toting=20 neighbours. Helen Joseph, a veteran anti-apartheid=20 campaigner and a listed person in terms of the Internal=20 Security Act, lived alone in a tree-lined and quiet=20 suburb of Johannesburg and was such an easy and=20 tempting target that we just couldn’t resist. She was=20 frequently a victim. Many of these escapades took place=20 after my colleagues and I had either gone out for=20 drinks or to somehow relieve the boredom of endless=20 surveillance of suspects, which was a painful=20 experience, sitting sometimes for hours on end in a=20 motor vehicle observing someone’s house.=20
I soon received my first commendation for a job well=20 done as a result of a mass of information I obtained=20 through an illegal search of the Hillbrow flat of a=20 suspect, Wits student activist Diana McLaren.=20
I followed up this success with another illegal search=20 of Christian Science Monitor journalist June Goodwin’s=20 flat in Joubert Park. I used my police ID to unlatch=20 the front door.=20
This time I wasn’t so lucky. My heart was pounding so=20 much I couldn’t even begin to search the mass of=20 printed material in her flat so with relief I left. As=20 I walked out of the building Goodman walked in and I=20 studiously looked the other way. I hadn’t even=20 considered what I would have done if she had caught me=20 in the act.=20
I never gave up, however. A week later I phoned her and=20 gave a long story about being interested in journalism,=20 being left-wing and wanting her advice. To my surprise=20 she invited me around to her flat on a Saturday=20
I dressed up in one of my two suits, freshly washed and=20 shaved (looking like anything but an aspiring left-wing=20 journalist). June’s first statement, “Haven’t I seen=20 you somewhere before,” unnerved me completely, as did=20 the black man whom she had just made tea for.=20
In the ensuing 10 or 15 minutes, which felt like hours,=20 Goodman dominated the conversation, asking me about the=20 border — to which I’d never been. The black man never=20 said a word, just sat and checked me out with a sort of=20 I-know-you’re-a-cop-so-fuck-you attitude. Every time I=20 gave yet another faltering answer, Goodman would give=20 the man a knowing glance. Talk about zanies=20 (embarrassment). What a faux pas!=20
I stood up to leave and, red with an all-betraying=20 flush, I made an apology and left.
Jordaan and my colleagues laughed at me when I reported=20 back on Monday. “You’ll improve,” said Jordaan, who had=20 a good laugh, especially when I couldn’t identify the=20 black guest.=20
Next week: How I ruined Roger Lucey’s musical career