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| Vlakplaas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Country | South Africa |
| Coordinates | 25°49′01.3″S 28°01′39.6″E / 25.817028°S 28.027667°E |
| Area | 100 hectares |
| Section C1 of the Security Branch | |
|---|---|
| "Vlakplaas" | |
 | |
| Active | 1979–1993 |
| Country | South Africa |
| Type | Counterinsurgency unit, paramilitary death squad |
| Part of | Security Branch of the South African Police |
| Headquarters | Vlakplaas, Gauteng 25°49′01.3″S 28°01′39.6″E / 25.817028°S 28.027667°E |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
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| Part of a series on |
| Apartheid |
|---|
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Vlakplaas (trans. "shallow farm") is a farm 20 km west of Pretoria that served as the headquarters of counterinsurgency unit C1 (later called C10)[1][2][3] of the Security Branch of the apartheid-era South African Police. Though officially called Section C1, the unit itself also became known as Vlakplaas. Established in 1979, by 1990 it had grown from a small unit of five policemen and about fifteen askaris to a unit of nine squads.[1]
The unit functioned as a paramilitary hit squad,[4] capturing political opponents of the apartheid government and either "turning" (converting) or executing them. Vlakplaas farm was the site of multiple executions of political opponents of the apartheid government.[5] The unit is known to have carried out the murders of Griffiths Mxenge in 1981 and the so-called "Chesterville Four" in 1986, among many others.[6] C1 officers were also notorious for allegedly routinely defrauding the state, siphoning off government funds to pay agents or for their personal use.[1]
The existence of the unit was revealed after a former member, Butana Almond Nofomela, confessed to his involvement hours before he was scheduled to be executed for an unrelated non-political murder. Nofomela was given a last minute reprieve so he could give up more information.[7][8]
- ^ a b c O'Brien, Kevin (1 September 2001). "Counter-Intelligence for counter-revolutionary warfare: The South African police security branch 1979–1990". Intelligence and National Security. 16 (3): 27–59. doi:10.1080/02684520412331306200. ISSN 0268-4527. S2CID 153561623.
- ^ Gump, James Oliver (2016). The Dust Rose Like Smoke: The Subjugation of the Zulu and the Sioux. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-8453-1.
- ^ Scholtz-Hofmeyr, Renzske (2011). "The farm" (PDF) (MA thesis). Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
- ^ The Role of Political Violence in South Africa's Democratisation
- ^ Truth and Reconciliation - The Voice of 'Prime Evil' - BBC News
- ^ Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (PDF). Vol. 2. Cape Town: The Commission. 1998.
- ^ "Vlakplaas Commander testifies before Harms Commission about secret police killings in 1981 | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
- ^ Schiffrin, Anya. "Exposing apartheid death squads – A trail of murder and terror". City Press. Retrieved 14 July 2023.