De Kock was in charge of a police “death squad” at Vlakplaas, outside Pretoria. Photo: Sunday Times
The daughter of one of former apartheid-era police colonel Eugene de Kock’s victims says he should be granted parole, according to a report.
Beeld reported on Tuesday that Candice Mama, 23, was eight months old when her father Gelnak Masilo Mama and the rest of the so-called “Nelspruit Five” were killed in 1992.
She and her family reportedly visited De Kock in jail last week.
“Growing up I had a face and context for my father’s murder. Eugene was in prison and served his time. My family already forgave him before the meeting,” she was quoted as saying.
She said De Kock showed true remorse.
“His apology came from his soul.”
She said he was also a victim of apartheid and was brainwashed from a young age to believe what he did was right.
“It was a relief to see he is not evil.”
In August, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha announced that De Kock, who has been nicknamed “Prime Evil”, would have to wait another year before his application for parole was reconsidered, to allow the families of his victims to be consulted.
De Kock was in charge of a police “death squad” at Vlakplaas, outside Pretoria, and was arrested in mid-1994. He was convicted and sentenced in the High Court in Pretoria in 1996.
He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for six murders, including the Nelspuit Five, and to a further 212 years’ imprisonment on other charges.
via Sapa
Menzi 