‘Only the person you killed can forgive you - De Kock

‘Only the person you killed can forgive you - De Kock Zandile.Khumalo Mon, 10/26/2026 - 18:14

JOHANNESBURG - Former Vlakplaas Commander Eugene De Kock says he does not believe in forgiveness, insisting that only the person killed could forgive him.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases Inquiry on Monday.

The man nicknamed ‘Prime Evil’ reflected on his role in some of the crimes committed during apartheid.

**READ | **LIVESTREAM | Eugene de Kock testifies before TRC inquiry

De Kock was sentenced to two life terms and 212 years in prison for six murders.

Asked whether he had apologised to families of those he killed, he said he had apologised but never asked for forgiveness.

“I don't believe in forgiveness at all. Even if they grant it, I won't accept it. Only the person that you killed can forgive you,” he said.

He admitted that he killed ‘a few’ people and that his unit targeted the militant opponents of the National Party rather than civilians.

During his testimony at the inquiry, De Kock outlined further his part in some of the gruesome crimes committed at the time.

**READ | **De Kock says activists were not seen as terrorists

He claims he was willing to give evidence just as he did in the 1989 Motherwell car bombing in which three police officers and an informer were killed, but was not called as a witness to do so.

“I believe that it has been suggested that I was somehow unavailable to provide evidence in the prosecutions and this is why the chain of prosecutions did not happen. That is absolutely not the case.

“As I have mentioned, I gave evidence, for example, in the case of the Motherwell murders and the people responsible who were convicted.

“I was willing and able to give evidence as to where the instructions came from that would have exposed the chain of command.