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South Africa’s shadowy architect of state terror, General Hendrik van den Bergh, served as Head of the Security Police and later the notorious Bureau for State Security (BOSS) from the 1960s through the 1980s. A master manipulator—ruthless, secretive, and deadly—Van den Bergh operated in the darkest corners of the apartheid regime. In The Tall Assassin, a former insider lifts the veil on a chilling legacy of espionage, murder, and state-sanctioned terror.
Among the most haunting of these is the unresolved 1967 crash of the SAA Rietbok aircraft off Kayser’s Beach, where all 25 passengers perished—a tragedy cloaked in conspiracy and silence. From the capture of Nelson Mandela to whispers of covert alliances with MI5, the CIA, Mossad, and others, Van den Bergh spun a web of global surveillance and manipulation.
But behind the calculated intelligence front lies a blood-stained trail of political assassinations: Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, Steve Biko, Anton Lubowski, Professor Johan Heyns, and more. BOSS is also deeply implicated in the brutal, unsolved murders of National Party finance expert Dr. Robert Smit and his wife, a mystery centred on the cryptic message "RAU TEM" scrawled at the crime scene—its meaning only now coming to light. From wartime internment camps to Cold War paranoia and the explosive Information Scandal that rocked the National Party, this book explores how ideology can corrode a nation’s soul—and how power, left unchecked, can descend into a moral free-fall.
South Africa’s shadowy architect of state terror, General Hendrik van den Bergh, served as Head of the Security Police and later the notorious Bureau for State Security (BOSS) from the 1960s through the 1980s. A master manipulator—ruthless, secretive, and deadly—Van den Bergh operated in the darkest corners of the apartheid regime. In The Tall Assassin, a former insider lifts the veil on a chilling legacy of espionage, murder, and state-sanctioned terror.
Among the most haunting of these is the unresolved 1967 crash of the SAA Rietbok aircraft off Kayser’s Beach, where all 25 passengers perished—a tragedy cloaked in conspiracy and silence. From the capture of Nelson Mandela to whispers of covert alliances with MI5, the CIA, Mossad, and others, Van den Bergh spun a web of global surveillance and manipulation.
But behind the calculated intelligence front lies a blood-stained trail of political assassinations: Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, Steve Biko, Anton Lubowski, Professor Johan Heyns, and more. BOSS is also deeply implicated in the brutal, unsolved murders of National Party finance expert Dr. Robert Smit and his wife, a mystery centred on the cryptic message "RAU TEM" scrawled at the crime scene—its meaning only now coming to light. From wartime internment camps to Cold War paranoia and the explosive Information Scandal that rocked the National Party, this book explores how ideology can corrode a nation’s soul—and how power, left unchecked, can descend into a moral free-fall.
The content of these eBooks is based on true events, personal experiences, and historical records from the life and service of a former South African police officer. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, some names, locations, and details may have been changed or fictionalized for privacy and sensitivity reasons. These books contain mature themes, including descriptions of crime and violence, and are intended for a mature audience. Reader discretion is advised. The views and opinions expressed in these works are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of any official law enforcement agency.
