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]

Xhanti Charles Sebe
Died27/28 January 1991
Known forCiskei state security head, rebel and murder victim
RelativesLennox Sebe (brother)

Charles Sebe was lured together 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 in cold blood[12] by the Ciskei Security forces.[4][11][13][14] Gqozo was tried in 1993 for the murder, by the Ciskei Supreme Court, and, together with his co-accused, Sergeant-Major Thozamile Veliti, Gqozo was acquitted.[15]

The killing of Sebe was later investigated by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ "Lt. Gen. Charles Xhanti Sebe: A few Famous Quotes". www.museum.za.net.
  2. ^ "Truth Commission - Special Report - TRC Final Report - Volume 2, Section 1, Chapter". sabctrc.saha.org.za.
  3. ^ Lelyveld, Joseph (25 September 1983). "MISERY IN A SOUTH AFRICAN 'HOMELAND'". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b "South Africa: Ciskei: Ten Years on Human Rights and the Fiction of "Independence" (Human Rights Watch Report, December 20, 1991)". www.hrw.org.
  5. ^ "Truth Commission - Special Report - TRC Final Report - Volume 2, Section 1, Chapter". sabctrc.saha.org.za.
  6. ^ sahoboss (16 March 2011). "Former commander of the armed forces of the Ciskei, Major-General Charles Sebe is imprisoned".
  7. ^ http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/decisions/1997/970414_thoba.htm
  8. ^ Times, Alan Cowell and Special To the New York (20 October 1986). "PRETORIA PUZZLE: 'HOMELANDS' AT ODDS". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "SAPA - 29 Jul 96 - FORMER CISKEI RULER'S SON WAS MOST FEARED IN". www.justice.gov.za.
  10. ^ a b "Truth Commission - Special Report - TRC Final Report - Volume 3, Section 1, Chapter". sabctrc.saha.org.za.
  11. ^ a b "Pretoria's 'Divide and Rule' Strategy in Ciskei". Christian Science Monitor. 9 September 1992.
  12. ^ Maclennan, Ben (7 April 2004). "Oupa Gqozo: An 'officer and a gentleman'".
  13. ^ http://letras.comp.filos.unam.mx/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ColinWhite_TheRuleOfBrigadierOupaGqozoInCiskei.pdf Archived 19 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine[bare URL PDF]
  14. ^ "South Africa: Second alleged Ciskei coup plotter killed".
  15. ^ "Today In History - YFM - Yona Ke Yona". yworld.co.za. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.