Good party calls on DA to remove PW Botha’s name amid claims by ‘Prime Evil’

The Good party has filed a motion to remove the name of PW Botha Boulevard following “deeply troubling” claims by convicted apartheid assassin Eugene de Kock.

De Kock, also known as “Prime Evil”, told the Gqeberha High Court on Monday that suspected “terrorists” who could not be arrested were expected to be killed.

Killing black people

The 77-year-old said the order allegedly came from former president PW Botha and was coordinated and approved at the highest levels of the security police.

“PW Botha was sending me to kill black people during apartheid,” he said.

Name change

Good party spokesperson Chantelle Kyd said De Kock’s claims “reopen wounds” that many South Africans are still struggling to heal and raise urgent questions about truth, justice, and historical accountability.

“As a country founded on the principles of dignity, human rights, and reconciliation, we cannot continue to honour individuals whose legacies are deeply intertwined with oppression, violence, and systemic injustice.

“Retaining the name of PW Botha on one of our major roads sends a message that is fundamentally at odds with the values of our constitutional democracy,” Kyd said.

Calls to DA

Kyd added that action must be taken.

“The DA has consistently positioned itself as a party committed to constitutional values and justice. This is a moment for the DA to demonstrate that commitment in action. Supporting the renaming of PW Botha Boulevard is not about erasing history – it is about choosing what we honour in our public spaces.

“We acknowledge that history must be remembered, but it must also be contextualised truthfully and responsibly. Public infrastructure should reflect the democratic values we strive to uphold, not glorify a painful and oppressive past,” Kyd said.

The Good Caucus urged all councillors, and particularly the DA, to act with “courage and integrity” by supporting the motion when it comes before Council.

Cradock Four

The highly anticipated reopening of the inquest into the killing of the Cradock Four is being heard in the Gqeberha High Court in the Eastern Cape.

This is the third inquest into the killings.

The first inquest conducted by the apartheid authorities in 1987 concluded that the four leaders were killed by “unknown persons while a second inquest in 1993 found that their deaths were caused by the police. But the culprits were not prosecuted.

Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkhonto were abducted by the apartheid police security branch at a roadblock on 27 June 1985 on their way from Port Elizabeth to Cradock.

They were assaulted and murdered in police custody.