Former South African Security Minister Adrian Vlokadmittedly responsible for crimes during the era of apartheidha dead this Sunday at the age of 85 after a brief illness, a family spokesperson has confirmed.
Vlok received in 1999 a amnesty after pleading guilty to orchestrating a attempt against the National Ecclesiastical Council and the Cosatu union, as well as the assassination attempt on Reverend Frank Chikane, the council’s general secretary.
The former minister died at the Unitas hospital in the town of Centurion, Guateng province, family spokesman Peet Bothma has confirmed to News24.
During his stay at the head of the South African Ministry of Securityfrom 1986 to 1991, Vlok oversaw the brutal police repression in the age of segregation. He was responsible for the arrest of at least 30,000 people, including 15,000 who were simultaneously imprisoned during the declaration of a state of emergency for protests during the last years of Apartheid.
Vlok also administered the national security law which, in 1988, led to the outlawing of nearly twenty anti-war organizations. segregation and, as a member of the State Security Council, he was involved in multiple operations of murders selective against activists.
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In fact, in an interview with the ‘Mail and Guardian’, Vlok admitted to signing congratulatory letters to the officers later accused of carrying out these executions and used words such as “eliminate” to encourage police repression against political dissidents. However, he assured that he did not have exact knowledge of the details of these operations.
Vlok ended his testimony before the Reconciliation Commission by apologizing for his actions.