Cradock Four inquest: 'Ramaphosa was on my hit list,' says Eugene de Kock

Former apartheid police commander Eugene de Kock has told the High Court in Gqeberha that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s name was among a list of people he was ordered to kill.

He is testifying at the reopened inquest into the Cradock Four murders.

Activists Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto, Sicelo Mhlauli and Fort Calata were abducted and killed in 1985.

He claims he was given 33 names of people who were targeted for assassination.

De Kock told the court he refused and challenged those directives, adding that Ramaphosa was innocent.

“The higher-ups, those that gave the orders, they wanted a lot of people shot and killed. My attitude was: why don’t you kill them yourself? I had a list of 33 people, amongst those names, were that of the current president of the country. They wanted him dead, and I said he is not a terrorist.”

He began testifying earlier this week but paused and has resumed his evidence.