SEVERAL former security policemen claim ex-president PW Botha approved the murder of eight anti-apartheid activists when he was head of state in 1985, the Truth Commission said Thursday. Some of 12 former security policemen who will appear before the TRC next week will testify that Botha, now 83, and his cabinet approved the killings, the TRC said in a statement. The 12 are applying for amnesty for the incident, in Johannesburg’s East Rand area, when eight youths from the United Democratic Front were blown up and seven other injured.The youths were given zero-timed hand grenades by the security police. Notorious assassin Eugene de Kock, now in jail, is among the amnesty applicants.