Dodgy past of 'coup plotter'

2006-08-07 09:44

Adriaan Basson and Sarie van Niekerk

Johannesburg - A "businessman" from the East Rand, who allegedly recently organised a coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), made the news 16 years ago after revealing a "right wing murder plot".

Jan Johannes (Jannie) Smith, who appeared on a video along with members of the Parti National Congolais (PCN) showing them plotting a coup in the DRC in December, was placed under police protection along with his family in June 1990 after he allegedly had infiltrated meetings held by 11 right wingers who plotted to murder former presidents Nelson Mandela and F W de Klerk.

The Witwatersrand attorney general at the time refused to prosecute the 11 men.

An investigation by Beeld recently revealed that meetings between Smith, Jemadari Vi-Bee-Kil Kilele, leader of the PNC group, and Smith's "intelligence commander", were held between May 2005 and May 2006 to plan a coup in the DRC.

Worked for security police

President Joseph Kabila and his four deputies would have been murdered and replaced with a PNC government led by Kilele.

The allegations about the "rightwing murder plot" by Smith, who was deputy chief of the Boksburg city council's traffic department at the time, was published in the Vrye Weekblad in June 1990.

Information was handed to the former security police, and Smith and his family were moved to Cape Town under police protection.

The alleged planners of the "murder plot", among them T J Ferreira, then deputy mayor of Boksburg, were held overnight and questioned by security police about the "plot that would have caused a bloodbath in South Africa".

Three months later, attorney general advocate Klaus von Lieres und Wilkau, announced that the 11 men would not be prosecuted.

Shortly afterwards Smith appeared in court on fraud charges and admitted that he had falsified his matric certificate and engineering diplomas before applying for a job at the Boksburg city council.

He was fined R4 000 or 12 months imprisonment. Half of his sentence was suspended for five years.

Smith's legal representative at the time applied for his mitigation plea to be heard in camera.

Advocate Martin Luitingh stated that Smith would testify about certain operations abroad he had done on behalf of the security police. Smith was fired by the Boksburg city council after admitting guilt and started working as a technical manager at a company in Marikana in Northwest. He could not be reached for comment last week.

- Beeld