[26 March 2026] Barend du Plessis says the permanent removal signal means “death”

Barend Jacobus du Plessis, Former Minister of Black Education and the former Minister of Finance, testifying at the reopened Cradock 4 inquest, advised the Gqeberha High Court today that there is a large difference between ” removal from the community” and “permanent removal from society” stating that the former refers to life and the latter refers to death. It was a response to a question about the signal that was sent to the head of the Secretariat of the State Security Council requesting a “permanent removal from society” of the Cradock 4 activists.