The SAPS has refused to provide legal funding to infamous apartheid assassin Eugene de Kock, who is set to testify in the upcoming inquest into the 1987 murders of the Cradock Four.

However, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has already reviewed and set aside this decision following a legal challenge by De Kock.

News24 reports that the commander of a notorious Vlakplaas death squad was given parole in 2015 after spending two decades in prison for his crimes, including murder, for which he did not receive amnesty at the TRC.

In September 2024, De Kock applied for legal assistance at the police's expense after learning that he would have to testify in the Cradock Four inquest.

The inquest will investigate who should be held responsible for the deaths of anti-apartheid activists Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli, who were abducted and murdered by security police in June 1985 in the Eastern Cape.

According to an affidavit by De Kock, deposed to in January, he was informed that his application for legal assistance had been declined. The reason was that De Kock had allegedly exceeded the powers conferred on him by the applicable law at the time.

De Kock said the allegations that he exceeded his powers were false and meritless.

‘I unequivocally confirm that I was not involved in the murder or planning of the murder of the Cradock Four. This fact is well documented in my amnesty application,’ De Kock said.

In 1999, De Kock was granted amnesty in respect of defeating the ends of justice related to the Cradock Four murders.

While De Kock reportedly knew about the killings, he was not personally responsible for them, according to the Foundation for Human Rights.

Full News24 report