Ex-Nelson Mandela bodyguard Andre Lincoln dies

Late former president Nelson Mandela’s bodyguard and anti-gang unit boss Major-General Andre Lincoln has been remembered for his tenacity in fighting crime.

Lincoln passed away on Friday at the age of 63 after a long illness.

Condolences

Western Cape police oversight and community safety MEC Anroux Marais sent her condolences to the family of Lincoln and also to the law enforcement fraternity.

Marais described Lincoln as a dedicated public servant whose contribution to policing would leave a lasting legacy.

“Major-General Lincoln’s contribution to improving safety in the Western Cape will continue to form part of the legacy he leaves behind. My thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”

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‘Strong and resilient’

Lincoln’s daughter Nikki expressed profound love for her dad.

“A part of me thought you would live forever. You were always so strong and so resilient, imagining life without you was so impossible, I let myself believe in the impossible. Rest in peace, daddy.

“I don’t know how be a person without a father, I don’t know how to navigate life without your wisdom. I love you forever. You took a piece of my heart with you, but I know a piece of yours will stay here with me,” Nikki said.

Biography

As a committed combatant in uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) during the liberation struggle, Lincoln operated as an intelligence officer working to dismantle apartheid’s machinery of oppression.

Lincoln was appointed by Nelson Mandela to head the Presidential Investigation Task Unit a key agency formed to fight organised crime and corruption.

It was during this period that Lincoln’s valour saved the life of Mandela, foiling an assassination attempt.

Lincoln was appointed head of the anti-gang unit in 2018.

Misconduct

The top cop and besieged police Crime Intelligence (CI) boss Peter Jacobs were embroiled with former police boss Jeremey Veary in allegations of misconduct in an internal investigation centred on the murder of Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear.

The probe relates to what Jacobs did, or failed to do, when police received a warning of a threat on Kinnear’s life.

Kinnear was gunned down on 18 September, two weeks after police received credible information that his phone was being illegally tracked, with fears that the surveillance was a precursor to an attack.

Malicious prosecution

In 2020, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) threw out Lincoln’s malicious prosecution claim against the state.

In 1998, Lincoln, then the commander of the Presidential Investigative Task Unit, was brought up on a string of charges, including theft and fraud.

Among the accusations was that known Sicilian mob boss Vito Palazzolo paid Lincoln’s expenses on a trip to Angola.

Lincoln was convicted on 17 of 47 counts and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Both the conviction and sentence were overturned on appeal and Lincoln launched a civil suit against the police, claiming R15 million.

The case was initially dismissed, but again he took it on appeal and was successful, with the majority judgment of a full bench of the Western Cape High Court finding no “reasonable or probable cause to set the law in motion for the prosecution”.

Retirement

He retired in 2021.

Lincoln is survived by his wife, Shereen, and their children. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

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