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Eugene de Kock testifies at Khampepe commission in Johannesburg

Published

The former head of the Vlakplaas unit took the stand on Monday. The commission is probing alleged efforts to stall the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era perpetrators.

De Kock is a former apartheid police commander who headed the Vlakplaas unit. He was convicted in 1996 of crimes that included six murders. The court gave him two life terms and an additional 212 years in prison.

One outlet described the inquiry as a Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases inquiry. Others call it the Khampepe commission of inquiry. The claims about attempts to block prosecutions are allegations that the commission is investigating.

Key facts

Who
Eugene de Kock (Apartheid state assassin testifying at the commission); Khampepe commission of inquiry (Commission of inquiry probing alleged efforts to stall investigation and…); Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Body whose cases inquiry is investigating alleged attempts to block…); Geoff Budlender SC (Leading De Kock's evidence)
What
The Khampepe commission of inquiry, probing alleged efforts to stall the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era perpetrators, continued in Johannesburg with Eugene de Kock testifying. The article is a live video feed with a short text description.
When
26 October 2026
Where
Johannesburg, South Africa, Newtown
Status
Developing

Elections Hot

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There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

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US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

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AI Cooling

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Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

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