Paul Erasmus

Paul Erasmus was a South African Security Police officer who testified to the Goldstone Commission,[1] and later the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about police dirty tricks and violence during the apartheid era.[2] This testimony revealed the existence of a unit in the Security Police called STRATCOM (Strategic Communications) that specialised in misinformation and propaganda against opponents of the regime.[3][4] Erasmus also testified on the police efforts to discredit Winnie Madikizela-Mandela by spreading false rumours about sexual affairs and drug use.[5][6]

Before joining STRATCOM, Erasmus had served in the counter-insurgency campaign in Namibia, as part of the Koevoet police unit.[7]

  1. ^ David Goodman Reconciliation or Chaos? Mother Jones May/June 1999
  2. ^ De Klerk linked to `dirty tricks' to sabotage ANC Washington Times Jul 10, 1995
  3. ^ Press release by Paul Erasmus Archived 2007-03-22 at the Wayback Machine African National Congress, 09-09-97
  4. ^ Dolley, Caryn (13 November 2021). "Atrocious crimes: Apartheid hitman's brutal confessions serve as a warning for South Africans". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  5. ^ Suzanne Daley Winnie Mandela Discredited Herself, Police Official Says New York Times November 29, 1997
  6. ^ Winnie Mandela defended by white former agents BBC News 24 November 1997
  7. ^ David Goodman and Paul Weinberg (2002) Fault Lines: Journeys Into the New South Africa University of California Press ISBN 0-520-23203-8 p93