Mike du Toit, a leader of the Boeremag white supremacist group who plotted to kill Nelson Mandela and create chaos in South Africa, has been convicted of high treason after a nine-year trial.
A Pretoria court ruled today that du Toit was also the mastermind behind bombings in Johannesburg's Soweto township in 2002 that killed one person, the South African Press Association reported.
Judge Eben Jordaan said du Toit had developed a blueprint to overthrow the African National Congress-led government, and wanted to chase black people from South Africa while killing whites who opposed his vision for a "racially pure" country.
The Boeremag, which means "Afrikaner Power" in Afrikaans, also planned to assassinate Mandela, South Africa's first black president who was elected in 1994 after spending 27 years in prison.
More from GlobalPost: South Africa serenades Nelson Mandela on his 94th birthday
Seventeen more accused remain in the dock awaiting judgment in the treason trial following the conviction of du Toit, a former university lecturer who was arrested in 2002.
South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper said du Toit and his lawyer declined to comment after the verdict, but he is expected to appeal.
Political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi told Reuters that the Boeremag is "smaller than even a fringe element" in South Africa, and had little support among the country's five million whites, who make up about 10 percent of the population.
GlobalPost Special Report: Mandela's village: South Africa's road from Qunu
The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?