TRISH MURPHY, Pretoria | Wednesday 6.30PM.
FORMER Vlakplaas commander Eugene De Kock on Thursday apologised for the bombings of Cosatu House and South African Council of Churches headquarters Khotso House, both carried out by his unit.
De Kock told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission amnesty committee in Pretoria that he accepted responsibility for the actions of all the men “from my level down”. Unfortunately, he said, he could not accept responsibility for the actions of his superiors.
Under cross examination, De Kock said that his unit, a covert security police hit-squad, believed it was involved in a “fight to the death”. It was never considered that they would “surrender” to the “opposition” – the African National Congress. “If the situation did lead to negotiations, it would be one of those diplomatic situations where we would be patting the dog’s head with one hand while looking for a stone to throw at it with the other. My perception was that we would bleed each other dry.”
He mentioned also that at the time he was requested to resign in April 1993, he was approached by the “opposition” to “cross the floor”. However, he said, he “couldn’t walk over”. Nonetheless he knew “we would have a black government, and that’s why I joined the IFP [Inkatha Freedom Party]”.