APARTHEID chemical wepons supremo Dr Wouter Basson will face at least 50 charges, including drug dealing, fraud and conspiracy to murder, when he goes on trial in October. Business Day reports that his defence will be paid for by the SA National Defence Force. The paper adds that the trial, scheduled to last two years, will sit in several European countries in its attempts to track down Basson’s illicit dealings. Pretoria deputy director of public prosecutions Anton Ackerman said the indictment will be handed to Basson’s lawyers on March 24.
MANDELA’S FAREWELL TO NETHERLANDS
SOUTH African President Nelson Mandela arrived in the Netherlands on Thursday for a two-day visit on the first leg of a farewell tour before stepping down as leader. During his trip to the Netherlands and the four Nordic countries, Mandela will thank countries who gave support to the anti-apartheid struggle. On Thursday, he was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Leiden, the first such awarded since Churchill. Mandela meets Dutch ministers on Friday to discuss the possible trial of two Libyans for the for blowing up of a Pan-Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.