Dirk Coetzee - Till the day I die

Moments in South African History

He was unknown to the Security Police at Vlakplaas near Pretoria until they were told to "make a plan" with him. Several banning orders, long days in detention and a spell on Robben Island had failed to break his spirit and crush his fight against apartheid. He was Griffiths Mxenge, the human rights lawyer who vigorously defended ANC comrades. So they abducted, stabbed and hammered him to death at Umlazi, south of Durban, in November 1981. Fifteen years later, in October 1996, three of Mxengeís awaiting-trial murderers appeared before the Amnesty Committee in Durban. They were Dirk Coetzee, Almond Nofemela and David Tshikalanga. Although they had already broken their oath of silence on the apartheid governmentís death-squads seven years earlier, they had never buried their skeletons.

Credits: Angie Kapelianis and Dumisani Shange, Sally Burdett and Danny Booysen.

Transcript: http://www.sabctruth.co.za/sabctruth/worldsright.htm#till

From the series South Africa's Human Spirit. Available wherever you find your podcasts.

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