Court rules SAPS must cover De Kock’s costs in Cradock Four case

FILE | Cradock Four Garden of Remembrance in the Eastern Cape.

The High Court in Pretoria has ruled that the South African Police Service (SAPS) must provide legal support to convicted former police Colonel Eugene de Kock for his role as a witness in the Cradock Four inquest.

The inquest, which reopened nearly 40 years after the 1985 killings, seeks to determine who was responsible for the abduction and murder of anti-apartheid activists Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkhonto.

The first sitting of the inquest, which heard testimony from family members and witnesses, concluded earlier this month in the Gqeberha High Court.

Proceedings are set to resume in October.

De Kock, the former commander of the apartheid-era Vlakplaas death squad, has been granted legal representation by order of the High Court.

He is expected to testify in the second sitting of the reopened inquest into the deaths of the Cradock Four.

De Kock was convicted in 1996 for multiple murders and granted partial amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) after confessing to his role in helping dispose of the murder weapon linked to the ‘Cradock Four’ killings.

His testimony is seen as potentially significant in uncovering the full chain of command and operational details behind the killings.