Prime Evil’ edges ever closer to release. The widows of two of the murdered Motherwell Four policemen have written to President Jacob Zuma, urging him to pardon Eugene de Kock.
De Kock, who, theoretically, is due to spend the next 200 years behind bars for the mass murders he committed during the apartheid era, was visited at Pretoria Maximum Security Prison by one of the widows of his victims on Wednesday this week.
Doreen Mgoduka, the widow of Port Elizabeth Warrant Officer Mbalala Mgoduka, and Pearl Faku, who was married to Sergeant Temba Faku, have previously expressed their willingness at reconciliation with De Kock.
Their husbands were killed in 1989 in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth, in a car bomb with another police officer, Sergeant Desmond Mpipa, and “askari” Xolile Sakati, also known as Charles Jack.
They were members of the Port Elizabeth Security Branch at the time.
De Kock told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the four had been assassinated as they knew too much about the murder of UDF activist Matthew Goniwe.
There are two Facebook groups calling for De Kock’s release. One of them, The Free Eugene De Kock group, has nearly 500 members and was created by an unidentified person based in Iraq.
The other group, simply called Eugene de Kock, has only 10 members.
The Khulumani Support Group, a national organisation for the survivors of apartheid atrocities, said earlier this year that if Zuma “was to be adequately and appropriately informed, and was to rigorously apply his mind to the granting of pardons, he would need to take into account the views of the victims and survivors of the crimes for which pardons were being considered”
The TRC made it a condition of amnesty that the views of victims had been considered.
Earlier this year, Marje Jobson, national director of Khulumani, said “the extent and repugnance of (De Kock’s) crimes could surely not ever make him eligible for a pardon”.
Presidency spokesman Vincent Mangwena would not confirm that the widows’ letter had been received, adding that if it did, the Presidency would not have to make this public.
Source: WWW.PRETORIANEWS.CO.ZA
Did you find this information helpful? If you did, consider donating.