According to an article published by Sunday World news, shocking allegations have surfaced that apartheid-era operatives orchestrated a campaign to deliberately spread HIV/AIDS among Black South Africans in an attempt to reduce the population ahead of the country’s first non-racial elections. Who Really Killed Chris Hani?
The report cites claims contained in a new book by retired judge Chris Nicholson. The book alleges that elements within the apartheid security establishment explored biological warfare strategies, with the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic viewed as a tool of oppression.
Nicholson claims the apartheid state did more than neglect the HIV/AIDS crisis, alleging that the spread of the virus was, in some instances, knowingly facilitated. His assertions draw on apartheid-era documents, testimonies from former security operatives, and links to international eugenics movements.
According to the book, as democratic rule became inevitable, the apartheid government and its business allies feared prosecution for crimes against humanity and the economic transformation promised in the ANC’s Freedom Charter.
The book directly implicates the apartheid state’s clandestine chemical and biological warfare programme, Project Coast, and its head, Dr Wouter Basson
The allegations, as reported by Sunday World, have reignited debate about the actions of apartheid-era structures during South Africa’s transition to democracy.
