DA: Keep De Kock behind bars

2010-01-22 16:03

Cape Town - Apartheid assassin Eugene de Kock must stay behind bars, the DA said on Friday said after a newspaper reported his release was imminent.

"De Kock most certainly should not take his place in society.

"He has not served his sentence, he has apparently not shown remorse, and he is a danger to society," DA spokesperson James Selfe said.

"This man killed at least six people. It is unfathomable that such an individual could even be considered for a pardon."

There has been speculation for weeks that President Jacob Zuma could grant De Kock a reprieve as a political trade-off for a widely-expected pardon for his former financial adviser Schabir Shaik.

It recently emerged that Zuma met De Kock in April last year, but the presidency has been silent on any pardon application and could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Beeld newspaper quoted two friends of De Kock as saying he was expecting to be released within weeks.

One of them, former spy Kevin Woods, was cited as saying Zuma had told him "the war is over" and there was therefore no reason why De Kock could not be returned to the community.

The notorious former commander of the security police unit at Vlakplaas is serving a 212-year prison sentence for a string of crimes, including six counts of murder.

He applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for amnesty, but it found some of his crimes were committed without political motive.
 

- SAPA