PRETORIA - A South African court Friday convicted a second man of high treason in a white supremacist plot to kill Nelson Mandela and drive blacks out of the country in a trial that has spanned nearly a decade. One day after “Boeremag” kingpin Mike du Toit was convicted of high treason, his brother, former policeman Andre du Toit, received the same verdict in a Pretoria court. High Court Judge Jordaan said there was no doubt that Andre had been part of the inner circle of the Boeremag organisation, which had planned a right-wing coup in 2002 to overthrow the post-apartheid govt. Known as the Boeremag - Afrikaans for “Boer Force”, the men are said to be behind 9 bomb blasts that shook the Johannesburg township in Oct 2002.
Dozens of people were injured and one person killed. Prosecutors said Andre was at a meeting in January 2002 when he swore allegiance to the Boeremag and its cause and was handed a bullet as symbol that “traitors” would be shot. The plans entailed creating chaos in the country through a chain of events, whereafter military bases would be taken over, the government replaced with white military rule and all blacks and Indians chased out of the country. The Du Toit brothers are among the 20 men in the trial, facing charges ranging from murder to terrorism and high treason. The verdict has been read since Monday and is likely to continue for weeks.