Magnus Malan and Constand Viljoen deny knowledge of mass graves

Former Minister of Defence Magnus Malan and General Constand Viljoen, former commander of the South African Defence Force (SADF), denied accusations on two mass graves brought against them by the Namibian government. Malan and Viljoen were questioned about the mass graves found at Eenhana, 850km north-east of Windhoek, capital of Namibia. The bodies were believed to be that of members of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) who were killed by 54 Battalion of the South African Army during the latter part of the 1966-1988 border war. Several hundred Plan cadres were killed in the first days after 1 April 1989, just before UN peacekeepers formally took over from the SADF, in what became popularly known as the April Nine-day War. Malan advised the Namibian and South African governments to seek answers from the United Nations, who was in command of Namibia at the time. Viljoen said burying guerrillas was a police function as fighters killed by the South African army and South-West African Territory Force by law had to be handed over to the South-West African police for identification and burial.