Xhanti Charles Sebe | |
---|---|
Died | 27/28 January 1991 |
Known for | Ciskei state security head and rebel |
Relatives | Lennox Sebe (brother) |
Lt. General Xhanti Charles Sebe [1] was leader of the Ciskei Defence Force- the military of the Bantustan of Ciskei, and its Director of State Security. A former Security Branch policeman, he later joined the South African Bureau of State Security (B.O.S.S.) before founding the Ciskei state security apparatus. [2] Described as having created a police state in Ciskei, [3] [4] and being perceived as its de facto ruler, [5] he is the young brother of Lennox Sebe. He was subsequently arrested by his brother's government, and sentenced to prison by the Ciskei government for incitement, [6] [7] but was rescued from jail by white mercenaries, [8] and escaped to the nearby Bantustan of Transkei, where he began an organisation that aimed to overthrow his brother's government. [9]
Sebe was lured, with Onward Guzana, back to Ciskei in an operation orchestrated by South African security forces [10] [11] in 1991 27/28 January, during the rule of Oupa Gqozo, and, having been wounded in an ambush which killed an associate, was the subject of a manhunt, and he was subsequently shot to death by the Ciskei Security forces. [11] [12] [13] Gqozo was tried in 1993 for murder by the Ciskei Supreme Court and, with codefendant Sergeant-Major Thozamile Veliti, was acquitted. [14]
Sebe's killing was later investigated by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. [10]
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