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A reassessment of the 1993 Mthatha operation argues that the State Security Council's approval of the attack was based on military intelligence presented during a period of intense terrorist violence, rather than on a deliberate decision to target civilians.
As sameroeper van die program “Veterane Tree Aan” het ek ’n oud kollega van die Sekretariaat van die Staatsveiligheidsraad, en een van die oorspronklike stigters van Spesmagte, genl.-maj. Dan Lamprecht, genooi om aan ’n episode deel te neem. Ons doen twee episodes namekaar. Ek het ook ’n voormalige bevelvoerder van die elite SA Spoorwegpolisie se Spesiale Taakmag, en senior lid van Nasionale Intelligensie, mnr. Johan Lotriet, genooi - HB Heymans
Abstract 1: Koevoet Experience and Counter‑Insurgency Operations: This section recounts first‑hand experiences accompanying Koevoet teams during counter‑insurgency operations in northern Namibia. The narrative highlights the tactical differences between Koevoet and the SADF, the intensity of spoor‑tracking, and the dangers of improvised explosive devices. A vivid description of a patrol ambush illustrates the suddenness of violence: “Then there were an explosion and shrapnel whistled through the air.” The account also reflects on the cooperation between units, the role of helicopters, and the emotional impact of casualties, including the death of a tracker. Abstract 2: Pastoral Duties, Rural Infiltration and Civilian Vulnerability This portion describes the author’s pastoral responsibilities during periods of insurgent infiltration in farming districts. Farmers were restricted from using roads, making the pastor the primary link to town. The narrative conveys the constant threat of landmines and ambushes, as illustrated by the soldier who “sat with his nose almost against the window” while scanning for disturbed soil. The text also recounts earlier attacks on farms, the psychological strain on visitors, and the uneasy coexistence of danger and routine community life. Abstract 3: Divine Protection, Attacks on Oshakati, and Human Resilience This section reflects on multiple mortar and rocket attacks on Oshakati between 1985 and 1987, emphasizing moments of perceived divine protection. Mortars fell on both sides of the house, yet “not a single window was broken.” The narrative includes encounters with unexploded ordnance, narrowly avoided ambushes, and the emotional aftermath requiring psychological support. It also recounts the 1988 Oshakati bank bombing and the pastoral role in supporting bereaved families. The closing anecdotes introduce moments of humour amid tension, illustrating the resilience of communities living under constant threat.
Abstrak Die kort mediaberig in Die Burger van 18 Desember 1975, waarin Minister P.W. Botha die verlenging van nasionale dienspligtiges se dienstyd en die opkoms van sekere burgermageenhede aankondig, het ’n kettingreaksie van logistieke, persoonlike en militêre gebeure ontketen. Hierdie vertelling fokus op die mobilisering van Regiment Oranjerivier (ROR) vir deelname aan Operasie Savannah, die administratiewe druk by die eenheid se hoofkwartier, en die ingrypende impak van die oproep op individue se gesinslewe, akademiese verpligtinge en beroepsroetes. Die verhaal illustreer die haastige, maar doeltreffende mobiliseringsproses van die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag in ’n era sonder moderne kommunikasietegnologie, en bied ’n persoonlike blik op die spanning, onsekerheid en trots wat die voorbereiding en ontplooiing voorafgegaan het. Die uiteinde is ’n terugblik oor vyf dekades heen, met ’n kritiese vraag oor of ’n soortgelyke proses vandag met dieselfde spoed, akkuraatheid en professionaliteit uitgevoer sou kon word.
“South Africa and the possible Shadow of a Coup d’État: Insights from a former Security Officer”
Dr Willem Steenkamp, son of former SAP-SB CO Maj-Gen Frans Steenkamp, and himself a former NIS officer who did his doctoral thesis on the intelligence function, as well as being a novelist, ambassador, attorney, entrepreneur and polyglot with wide experience of living abroad, and currently the co-editor and business manager of Nongqai magazine, shares his experiences and insights into South Africa’s transition. He gives his personal view on why and how the political war was lost, despite the “armed struggle” battles having been won, explaining that it had always been a political rather than a military conflict, with the “armed struggle” having been just one part of the propaganda war, which latter the former South African government decisively lost due to poor strategic and policy choices.
ntroducing the nature and goals of Nongqai magazine's new series: "the men speak". This will consist of eyewitness recollections and insights of those who served in the security and intelligence spheres during the last decades of white rule in South Africa, recounted to enhance understanding of the realities and motives that contributed to the transition from Apartheid to a non-racial democracy.
