There was laughter in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday when “Rottweiler” and “KGB” emerged as some of the noms de guerre assumed by the alleged Boeremag coup plotters.
One called himself “Motherfucker” and another “Volla” (an endearing term for a Volkswagen), accused-turned-state-witness Henk van Zyl told the court. His own war name was “Bittereinder” (bitter-ender).
Van Zyl’s evidence elicited chuckles from members of the public, police guards, from the bench and even some of the accused.
Judge Eben Jordaan jokingly pressed Van Zyl for more names, but he could not remember any.
The witness testified how the names were chosen and recorded at a meeting on his farm in the Bethlehem district of the Free State in January 2002.
At the gathering, accused Tom Vorster was introduced as the new leader of the then-unnamed organisation. His predecessor, Lourens du Plessis, had taken fright and withdrawn, Van Zyl said. (Du Plessis later testified against his alleged co-plotters.)
At least 10 of the 22 Boeremag accused were present at the meeting, Van Zyl testified.
He said Vorster proposed that those present choose a name, flag and symbol for the organisation. The name chosen was Boeremag, the flag the old Transvaal Vierkleur and the symbol the Odal rune (a Germanic rune meaning “homestead” that is associated with property and inheritance, wealth and prosperity).
Vorster then made them take the vow of Blood River (taken by their forefathers, the Voortrekkers, before a great battle against the Zulus).
He also made them take an oath of loyalty, their right hands extended.
“He then came around, shook hands with each of us and said we were now blood brothers,” Van Zyl testified.
He said Vorster gave each person present a 9mm cartridge.
“He said there was no turning back now. Anyone turning back will be shot, and if you knew somebody would betray you, you had to make sure he was shot.”
The witness took the cartridge he said he received from Vorster from a briefcase, and handed it up as evidence, saying: “I kept it for a traitor”.
Van Zyl said Vorster informed the meeting of a change of tactics for the Boeremag. Previously, the plan was to mobilise for an expected attack on whites by blacks.
Boeremag supporters apparently believed a prediction by the Boer “seer” Siener van Rensburg that blacks would descend on white Gauteng suburbs on the “night of long knives”, massacring all white residents.
This would apparently happen seven days after the death of former president Nelson Mandela.
But Vorster told the January 2002 gathering the Boeremag would no longer wait for this to happen, Van Zyl said.
“He said we were going to make war against the government.”
The Boeremag would explode bombs at strategic spots, including the Johannesburg International airport, to trigger blacks into attacking whites “so that we can retaliate”, Van Zyl said.
Several plans were made at the meeting for capturing military bases and radio stations and for banishing blacks and Indians from the country.
Van Zyl said blacks and Indians in the Free State would have been chased to KwaZulu-Natal, those in the Northern Cape to Botswana, and those in Gauteng and the north to Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
“It was my impression that they would have been done away with later.”
Questioned by the judge on how the deportation would have been achieved, he said: “Those who resisted would have been shot. Either you went, or you were shot. We wanted to clean up the country.”
Van Zyl (39) started his testimony on Tuesday morning. He is the third witness to be called since the trial started more than a year ago.
He was warned that he may have to give evidence incriminating himself, but will be indemnified from prosecution if his testimony is honest.
The 22 trialists are facing 42 charges related to an alleged plot to overthrow the government, including treason, terrorism, sabotage, murder, and the possession of illegal arms, ammunition and explosives. — Sapa
Whites were to be ‘slaughtered’