Infamous apartheid-torturer Jeff Benzien dies at 70

Jeff Benzien, a former apartheid-era security police officer infamous for torture, has died. He passed away on Thursday at Mediclinic Cape Gate in his late 70s after reportedly battling cancer.

Benzien was granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for his involvement in the death of anti-apartheid activist Ashley Kriel and for torturing several others, including Peter Jacobs, Anwar Dramat, Ashley Forbes, Gary Kruser, Niklo Pedro, Allan Mamba and Tony Yengeni. Kriel was shot in the back by Benzien.

Yengeni, a dedicated anti-apartheid activist, was detained between 1987 and 1991 on terrorism charges. He was later indemnified and released in March 1991. After his arrest, he was questioned and tortured by Benzien using the brutal “wet bag” technique. Yengeni also claimed that Benzien and other policemen molested him.

Benzien admits brutality under questioning at TRC

According to the transcript from Benzien’s TRC hearing, Yengeni questioned him during his trial and asked him to recall what happened the night he was arrested. Benzien answered: “I know that I interrogated you, and I placed the wet bag over your head, and I smothered you.”

Yengeni then asked Benzien what kind of man uses a method like this on other human beings. Benzien replied that he had repeatedly asked himself that question.

Yengeni requested that Benzien demonstrate the method to the commission. He first explained and then demonstrated the technique.

“It was a cloth bag that would be submerged in water to get it completely wet. Then I had to get the person to lie down on the ground on his stomach, normally on a mat or something similar, with his hands handcuffed behind his back.

“Then I would take up a position in the small of the person’s back, put my feet through between his arms to maintain my balance and then pull the bag over the person’s head and twist it closed around the neck in that way, cutting off the air supply.”

Benzien reflects on Kriel’s death

Speaking about Kriel’s death, Benzien said: “I would like to say to the family of Mr Kriel, now that I am older and perhaps know a bit more about the politics of those years, I believe Mr Kriel acted very courageously. My purpose was to arrest him, not to kill him. His death was a tragedy for the family. I am very sorry he had to die”.

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