Secrets and Lies

Wouter Basson headed apartheid South Africa's chemical and biological warfare programme. During this time he was allegedly involved in poisonings, drugs and murder, until he came under investigation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

---

The trial of Dr Wouter Basson, the head of apartheid South Africa's chemical and biological warfare (CBW) programme, generated intense interest both inside South Africa and in the wider world. Basson joined the Army after completing a doctorate in chemistry, and was rapidly promoted through the ranks. He travelled around the world as a spy, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, using fake identities - and often fake marriages - as a front. Back in South Africa, Basson headed Project Coast, the state's CBW programme, during which time he was allegedly involved in poisonings, developing drugs to placate the state's opponents, and simple, brutal murder. Basson was initially arrested for possessing Ecstasy tablets, and was then investigated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which led to a criminal trial. This book is written by a chief TRC investigator and a journalist who followed every day of the case.