PROJECT COAST: How Mbeki’s NPA failed to hold Wouter Basson accountable
In Part Four of our six-part series, legal missteps, political caution, and evidentiary hurdles allowed Project Coast’s mastermind to walk free.
South Africa signed the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention on April 10, 1972, and ratified it in November 1975. However, this did not stop the country from developing a biological weapons program known as Project Coast. As concerns about chemical and biological weapons in modern warfare grew, it was important to analyze the shortcomings of South Africa's dismantling of this program.
Nelson Mandela, who stepped down as president in 1999, had hoped to break the tradition of lifetime heads of state and chose Thabo Mbeki as his successor. Under Mbeki, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was led by Penuell Maduna, who presided over the trial of Wouter Basson, the alleged mastermind of Project Coast.
The trial, which began on October 4, 1999, involved 67 criminal counts against Basson, including murder, attempted murder, drug offenses, and fraud. Judge Willie Hartzenberg dismissed several charges initially due to South African domestic law lacking extraterritorial jurisdiction. The NPA, which was responsible for the trial, lacked the necessary legal expertise and personnel to prosecute the case effectively.
This led to the prosecution relying on witnesses who had participated in apartheid-era counter-insurgency operations and had received immunity in exchange for their testimony.
Despite the setbacks, the prosecution was able to prove that Basson had manufactured chemical and biological agents under Project Coast's aegis. However, it was difficult to link him to specific murders. Basson's defense was able to show that the money he was accused of misappropriating was spent on acquiring programme equipment rather than ending up in his pocket.
The judge ultimately ruled that the prosecution's case was inadequate and that guilt beyond reasonable doubt was not established. The Constitutional Court later declined to overturn the acquittal, citing international customary law and extraterritorial provisions. In 2013, Basson was found guilty of unprofessional conduct by the Health Professions Council of South Africa, but the decision was contested and eventually dismissed.
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