National
Speculation rife about Eugene De Kock's whereabouts─── 10:52 Sun, 01 Feb 2015
Pretoria - Speculation was rife on Sunday as various newspapers carried reports about where recently paroled former apartheid assassin Eugene De Kock might be.
"We planned everything thoroughly. He is coming in for a soft landing," political analyst and campaigner for De Kock's release, Piet Croucamp told the City Press newspaper.
He added that he had already found a job for De Kock.
The newspaper also quoted an unnamed source at the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria as saying De Kock had already left the institution where he served nearly 20 years of his sentence.
Correctional services on Sunday referred all queries to the justice ministry. Comment from the ministry was not immediately available.
During Friday's announcement of the granting of parole for De Kock, Justice Minister Michael Masutha said that the former Vlakplaas commander had requested that the details of his release not be made public.
However, the Sunday Independent reported that following death threats, the man dubbed "Prime Evil" for his apartheid crimes, had been taken to a safe house.
According to unnamed sources, the newspaper said that the threats apparently came from right-wing organisations and former members of the apartheid-era security branch who feared he might identify others responsible for various killings under the regime.
Furthermore, the Sunday Times reported that Namiba's South West Africa's Police Organisation (Swapo) had visited De Kock while he was still in prison and offered to allow him to stay on an isolated piece of land in the Okavango.
The offer was apparently mentioned in a report used for his parole application.
De Kock was responsible for the killings of hundreds of Swapo soldiers during their independence struggle.
The former police colonel, aged 66, was serving two life sentences for six murders, plus 212 years for other crimes.
Sapa
