South Africa: Mike du Toit, mastermind of ‘Boeremag’ white supremacist plot to kill Mandela, convicted of treason
This photo taken on July 25, 2012, shows accused Mike du Toit (R) and his brother Andre du Toit (L) standing in the courtroom at the Pretoria Hight Court. The ‘Boeremag’ trial (Afrikaans for Boer Force) of 20 rightwingers accused of high treason, terrorism and possession of weapons and explosives has been billed as one of the longest and most expensive in South Africa. On July 23, the Pretoria High Courg began delivering a judgement. On October 30, 2002, nine bomb blasts shook Soweto in the early hours of the morning, killing a woman and injuring her husband. The bombings were said to be aimed at creating instability and panic to allow the group to unseat the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and chase blacks and Indians from the country.
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.
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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.
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