Eugene de Kock
Eugene Alexander de Kock (born 29 January 1949) is a former South African Police colonel, torturer, and assassin, active under the apartheid government. Nicknamed "Prime Evil" by the press, De Kock was the commanding officer of C10, a counterinsurgency unit of the SAP that kidnapped, tortured, and murdered numerous terrorists from the 1980s to the early 1990s. C10's victims included members of the African National Congress.
Eugene de Kock | |
|---|---|
Eugene de Kock in 1997 (right) | |
| Born | 29 January 1949 South Africa |
| Other names | Prime Evil |
| Occupation | Member of the South African Police (SAP) |
| Known for | Role in the apartheid-era counter-insurgency division of the SAP |
| Criminal status | Paroled |
| Awards | Police Cross at Sevran |
| Conviction(s) | Crimes against humanity |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
Following South Africa's transition to democracy in 1994, De Kock disclosed the full scope of C10's crimes and acknowledged the loss the families suffered of the victims he was instructed to murder, while testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In 1996, he was tried and convicted on eighty-nine charges and sentenced to two concurrent life terms plus 212 years in prison. Since beginning his sentence, De Kock has accused several members of the apartheid government, including former State President F. W. de Klerk, of permitting C10's activities. In 2015, he was granted parole.