Notorious apartheid-era assassin known as ‘Prime Evil’ is set free in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A South African apartheid-era assassin who kidnapped, tortured and killed black activists in the 1980s has been granted parole in the interest of “nation building.”

Eugene de Kock, nicknamed "Prime Evil" by the press, commanded a top-secret police death squad, headquartered on Vlakplaas farm near Pretoria, that was responsible for the deaths of dozens anti-apartheid activists. He was jailed in 1996 for 212 years plus two life sentences for 87 crimes.

On Friday, Michael Masutha, South Africa’s justice and correctional services minister, announced a long-awaited decision on parole for de Kock, as well as two other notorious apartheid-era killers, Clive Derby-Lewis and Ferdi Barnard.

“In the interest of nation-building and reconciliation I have decided to place Mr de Kock on parole,” Masutha said.

The minister added that upon de Kock’s request, the date and conditions of his parole will not be made public.

While in prison, de Kock, 66, has attempted to atone for his crimes by meeting with family members of his victims and volunteering information about their deaths.

He has also helped the National Prosecuting Authority’s missing persons unit in tracking down bodies of Vlakplaas victims, a factor cited by Masutha in his decision granting parole.

Such efforts have won de Kock unexpected support, including from the widows of some of his black victims. But others feel his crimes are beyond redemption.

Also Friday, Masutha denied medical parole to Clive Derby-Lewis, a right-wing politician convicted of assisting in the 1993 murder of Chris Hani.

The assassination of Hani, who was the leader of the South African Communist Party and a high-profile figure in the liberation movement, put a fragile country on the brink of civil war.

Derby-Lewis, 78, has lung cancer. But Masutha cited questions over the authenticity of his medical records, noting that Derby-Lewis was confusingly admitted to the hospital under a pseudonym, which happened to be the name of another patient at the same hospital.

"There is nothing to suggest that Mr. Derby-Lewis's condition is such that he is rendered physically incapacitated as a result of injury, disease or illness so as to severely limit daily activity or self-care," Masutha said.

Masutha deferred making a decision on parole for Ferdi Barnard, sentenced in 1998 for the murder of David Webster, a university lecturer and anti-apartheid campaigner.

De Kock is one of the few apartheid figures to have spent time in prison, after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ruled that his crimes were not politically motivated. In his parole application, De Kock argued that he was a policeman following orders from his superiors, none of whom was prosecuted.

Apartheid-era politicians did not serve time for their role, leaving some South Africans with the feeling that the top leadership got away with their crimes.

Strangely, the head of the apartheid government’s chemical and biological warfare program — nicknamed “Dr. Death” — only now faces being struck off the doctors’ roll. Up until now he's been a practicing cardiologist in Cape Town.

During the years of apartheid, Wouter Basson allegedly provided cyanide capsules to soldiers and tried to make a vaccine that would make black women infertile, among other unethical experiments.

Basson, who has continued to practice as a cardiologist in Cape Town, was found guilty in 2013 of unprofessional conduct and is awaiting sentencing by the Health Professions Council of South Africa.