{
  "id": 16591584,
  "title": "TRC Roulette : Apartheid chain of command: ‘I know everything,’ Eugene de Kock tells TRC inquiry",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/trc-roulette-apartheid-chain-of-command-i-know-everything-eugene-de",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-26T11:24:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-26-apartheid-chain-of-command-i-know-everything-eugene-de-kock-tells-trc-inquiry/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Vlakplaas commander Eugene de Kock has testified before the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into delayed post-TRC prosecutions, stating that no one in the prosecutorial authority approached him to provide names, times, and dates of those who gave orders higher up the chain of command. De Kock, who served 20 years in C-Max and was sentenced to two life terms plus 212 years, revealed that prosecuting the generals who ordered him to commit atrocities would have exposed the chain of command, but he was never held accountable.",
  "summary": "The man who took the fall for apartheid-era atrocities, former Vlakplaas commander Eugene de Kock, has told the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into delayed post-TRC prosecutions that while he served 20 years in C-Max, no one in the prosecutorial authority approached him to provide the names, times and dates of those further up the chain of command who gave the orders.",
  "key_points": [
    "Eugene de Kock, former Vlakplaas commander, testified before TRC inquiry.",
    "De Kock claimed no one in prosecutorial authority provided higher orders.",
    "He refused accountability, fearing exposure of the chain of command."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The failure to engage with key witnesses like de Kock prevents the legal system from dismantling the high-level command structures that once orchestrated apartheid-era atrocities.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Mail and Guardian",
        "title": "Eugene ‘Prime Evil’ de Kock testifies at Khampepe Commission",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/eugene-prime-evil-de-kock-testifies-at-khampepe-commission",
        "published": "2026-10-26T08:37:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "Eugene de Kock recounts thallium poisonings and source of bombing instructions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/eugene-de-kock-recounts-thallium-poisonings-and-source-of-bombing",
        "published": "2026-10-26T13:26:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}