The Boeremag’s plans to take over the country included destroying the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) building in Johannesburg by blowing it up, the Pretoria High Court heard on Friday.
Police spy Johan Smit, who claimed to have infiltrated the inner circle of the rightwing organisation, expanded on his earlier evidence during cross-examination that targets identified as part of a coup plan included the SABC, Radio Jacaranda and Radio Pretoria.
”Hans Dreyer had to gather information about how we could destroy the SABC and how it was used as propaganda method for and against us. It was said that all of the radio stations had to be destroyed.
”Later it was decided to retain Radio Pretoria for propaganda purposes,” he said.
To a question by Judge Eben Jordaan on how the SABC would have been destroyed, Smit said: ”Well, the place had to be blown up … It would definitely not have been a job for one or two guys. It would not have been humanly possible. I don’t know how they would have done it.”
Other targets discussed at a number of meetings included the South African National Defence Force’s operational headquarters in Pretoria.
Although Van Wyk admitted that this building was just about impenetrable, he said there had been a discussion about how they would be able to get people out of the building, of which seven floors were underground.
”It was said that their air conditioning was still above ground. Mike du Toit [one of the alleged Boeremag leaders] said they would come out it you put gas in the system,” Smit testified.
Reference had also been made during meetings to taking over the fuel depot at Watloo, 4 Reconnaissance Unit headquarters at Swartkops and target military aircraft.
”A lot of information was gathered about the Rooivalk helicopters. The accused Mike du Toit and Rooikoos du Plessis went to talk to the organiser of an air show about the Rooivalk helicopters and tried to recruit him but he was not interested in talking to them about certain information.
”They came back and said they could also not manage to recruit pilots, without whom it would have been impossible to use the helicopters,” he said.
Smit on Friday again touched on a discussion centring on a plan to chase all black people out of the cities along the N1 highway to Zimbabwe.
”I remember Luke van Niekerk [who attended one of the meetings] said afterwards he was no longer prepared to be involved and would withdraw because he was not prepared to shoot blacks. Mike du Toit told me about it.
”It was said at the meeting that after all of the information had been gathered about targets, a place like Soweto would be closed down and people would be chased out. Those who resisted would be shot,” Smit testified.
He conceded that in his evidence in chief he had testified according to a statement compiled out of information he supplied to his police handler. He never read through the statement word by word before testifying, although he signed it as correct.
”That was my memory then, but I’ve noticed last night on reading my statement that there were a few mistakes,” he said.
The trial continues on Monday. — Sapa