Outrage at the kidnapping of student leader Lengene
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Date: 18 February, 1982
Botswana accused South Africa of kidnapping a former Soweto student leader, Peter Lengene, from Gaborone and transporting him to South Africa. The Minister of Police confirmed his presence in South Africa. The government of Botswana vehemently condemned the kidnapping of Peter Lengene by the Pretoria regime. Lengene, who obliged for fear of his life, was turned into a police spy by South Africa. He agreed to train members of Nceba's unit in the use of landmines. The unit, having previously received training in landmines, put pressure on Lengene to select targets for destruction. Because of this pressure, the South African Police (SAP) requested an order to have a member of the South African Youth Congress (SAYCO) killed by means of explosives.
The activists were given booby-trapped landmines on purpose so that the mines would explode as soon as they pulled the pins. This was to create the public impression that the activists accidentally blew themselves up on an African National Congress (ANC) operation because of poor training. Lengene was accompanied by Caswell, Richard, and Casius. The police monitored the situation from a distance. Only one mine detonated during the operation, blowing Casius to shreds. Caswell and Richard were shot when their landmines failed to detonate. The police took the two bodies and dumped them next to a river, doused them with gasoline, and set fire to them so that they could not be identified.
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