South Africa: A group of white, right-wing South Africans is accused of plotting to assassinate former president Mr Nelson Mandela, a prosecution lawyer said yesterday.
Details of the alleged plot, confirmed by Mr Paul Fick, were broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corp (SABC), based on the indictment of 23 members of the right-wing Boeremag group, facing trial in May for treason and terrorism.
Last week, police said the Boeremag was still active and intent on renewing its efforts to overthrow the black-led government through a wave of bombings and assassinations.
The group is already blamed for planting a number of bombs in Soweto township near Johannesburg last year, which killed one person and raised fears of renewed racial violence.
"The SABC has in its possession an official document alleging that a group of Boeremag members built a bomb last October hoping to kill former president Nelson Mandela. Mr Mandela's vehicle was apparently to be targeted on a road in Limpopo province," the radio report said.
The Boeremag is believed to be a group of white Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch and French settlers.
In another development, a South African court sentenced prominent politician Tony Yengeni yesterday to four years in jail for fraud in a case seen as a test of the country's commitment to fight corruption.
Yengeni admitted defrauding parliament, and was acquitted on a more serious charge of corruption last month, after cutting a deal with the state when his defence team pulled out.
Yengeni, a former anti-apartheid guerrilla leader, resigned as chief whip of the ruling African National Congress in 2001 after details emerged of a heavy discount he received on a luxury four-wheel-drive Mercedes Benz from DaimlerChrysler Aerospace South Africa.
He resigned his seat in parliament earlier this month.He was freed on bail pending his appeal. - (Reuters)