ABSTRACT
In this chapter the writer introduces the main torturer of the women and apartheid-era captain, Theunis J “Rooi Rus” Swanepoel. His moniker, “Red Russian,” was due to his flushed appearance. Swanepoel’s reign was long and so was his reach. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) heard evidence that he was the central figure in the anti-terrorist unit Koevoet, which operated in South West Africa (Namibia), and in 1976, during the Soweto uprising, it was Swanepoel who was called out to Soweto when riots broke out. It was Swanepoel who called for arms. More than 451 schoolchildren were shot and killed by police.
In July 1998, a UK newspaper report recorded that Swanepoel, aged 70, had died “quietly at home.”
