Anton Lubowski
Anton Theodor Eberhard August Lubowski (born 3 February 1952 in Lüderitz, South West Africa (Namibia) – murdered 12 September 1989) was a Namibian politician, lawyer and secretary-general of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), which was recognised by the United Nations as the sole legitimate authority in Namibia.[1]
On 12 September 1989, Anton Lubowski (37) was assassinated in Windhoek by operatives of South Africa’s Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB), towards the end of the decades-long illegal occupation of Namibia by apartheid South Africa.[2] Lubowski was shot dead at close range with an AK47 rifle outside his luxury home in Windhoek. The briefcase, which he is pictured holding, went missing.
The accusations leveled against the Civil Cooperation Bureau were confirmed by Judge Harold Levy of the Namibian Supreme Court, when he concluded that the CCB conspired to murder Lubowski. Judge Levy's report named as accomplices CCB members Joe Verster, Staal Burger, Abraham 'Slang' van Zyl, Calla Botha, Leon 'Chappie' Maree, Johan Niemoller junior, Captain Wouter Basson (aka Christo Britz), Ferdi Barnard and Charles Wildschudt (formerly Neelse).
Judge Levy's report was corroborated by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report, which dismissed claims, made by General Magnus Malan, that Lubowski was a paid informant for the South African Military Intelligence (SAMI).[3]
Investigation by the TRC
In April 1996, The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) heard evidence from Anton Lubowski's relatives, including his father Wilfried Lubowski.
I am the undersigned Wilfried Franz Lubowski and I hereby declare that I am an adult male of Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, Western Cape Province.
The facts deposed to herein are true and correct. I am the father of the late Anton Theodor Eberhard August Lubowski. Anton was shot and killed at approximately 20:30 on the 12th September 1989 as he was about to enter his home at 7 Sanderburg Street, Windhoek, Namibia.
There is no doubt that the death of Anton resulted from a politically motivated assassination.
Anton was an advocate of the Supreme Court and he practised as such both within the then South West Africa as well as the Republic in Government South Africa. He was also a high profiled and very well known member of the South West African People's Organisation known as SWAPO.
Anton established himself as a fighter in the Namibian Liberation Struggle and at great personal sacrifice fought fearlessly for that cause. As an advocate he was involved in a large number of so-called terrorist cases, he however also took a leading part in the political struggle.
He addressed meetings and marched with demonstrators. He represented SWAPO in 1984 at the Peace Summit in Lusaka and announced his membership of SWAPO encouraging other white people to follow his example. He was soon detained by the Security Police and in all detained six times including a time in solitary confinement in 1987 until he was released after the application was brought to the Supreme Court in South West Africa.
It is a fact that for many years Anton had been harassed by the authorities of the day in Namibia. The assassination of Anton took place during the transitional period in Namibia that is when UN Security Council Resolution 435 of the United Nations was being implemented there.
The United Nations Transitional Assistance Team known as UNTAG, led by UN Special Representative Martti Ahtisaari, was from the 1st of April 1989 actively deployed inside the country occupying military bases and monitoring certain police activity.
An election which would be free and fair was to be held in the terms of Resolution 435. This election was scheduled for November 1989, a few months after the assassination of Anton. The day after the assassination of Anton, namely the 13th of September 1989, an Irish national, one Donald Acheson, was arrested in regard to his murder. Acheson was a hardened soldier who served in the Rhodesian Army and possibly also in the South African Defence Force. Acheson appeared in the High Court of Namibia charged with murder on the 18th of April 1990. The Prosecutor-General advocate Hans Heyman, however, applied for a postponement of the case and for Acheson to be remanded in custody. The postponement was sought on the basis that the Prosecutor-General wanted to join two co-accused in the case who were both South African citizens but that there were various difficulties in securing their attendance at the trial in Windhoek.
The Court granted postponement of the matter until the 7th of May 1990 in order to enable the Prosecutor to produce evidence of the diplomatic initiatives that were taken to ensure the attendance in Court of the said two persons. The prosecution could not produce any such evidence on the postponed date, and the charge of murder was consequently withdrawn against Acheson.
It is, however, rumoured that the police were involved in the murder. These rumours persisted until a local newspaper The Namibian published an article on the 17th of May 1993 which contained allegations by a former Namibian policeman, one Willem Rooinasie, concerning police involvement in the assassination.
This resulted in a renewed investigation by the Namibian police and an eventual inquest into the death of Anton which was conducted in the High Court of Namibia by Mr Justice Harold Levy. The inquest ran during the period April to June 1994. The Court eventually made its findings on the 23rd of June 1994. As more fully appears from various extracts from the inquest findings of Mr Justice Levy, Anton’s death was attributed to being shot seven times on various parts of his body with an AK47 rifle and a final shot through the head with a different calibre firearm. In other words they wanted to make quite sure. The Court found that Acheson had executed the assassination on the instructions of the Division of the South African Defence Force known as the Civil Cooperation Bureau, also known as CCB. The inquest findings also rejected the allegation, which was made by the then South African Minister of Defence ex General Magnus Malan, in the South African Parliament on the 26th of February 1990, and repeated in evidence by one of the witnesses at the inquest, Willem Rooinasie, namely that Anton was an agent of the South African Defence Force. It is clear that the investigation into the assassination of Anton was plagued by misinformation, obfuscation, subterfuge and lies in order to conceal the fact that the assassination was planned and executed under direct orders from the CCB. Even the conduct of the prosecuting authorities of Namibia was clearly irregular and was severely criticised by Mr Justice Levy insofar as the prosecution of Acheson was concerned.
Extracts from the inquest findings are annexed to this affidavit, I've got them here in front of me, clearly setting out the background to the assassination and the manner in which it was eventually handled by both the Namibian police and the prosecuting authority. The assassination and subsequent defamatory allegations made against Anton has been a tremendous blow to our whole family but particularly the family of Anton and his good name and memory. I require from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to fully investigate the assassination in order to finally expose those responsible and to restore the good name and memory of Anton. It would also be appreciated if the Commission could consider the possibility of assistance for the family of Anton who has lost a breadwinner, husband and father.[4]
Education and early life
Anton Lubowski attended Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He then did a year of military training with the South African Defence Force in Pretoria, before studying law at Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, where he graduated as an LLB.[5]
Further reading
The life of Anton Lubowski is described in a book written by his widow Gabrielle Lubowski in her noval "On Solid Ground" ISBN 9781456475291 / ISBN 978-1-4564-7529-1. Anton Lubowski's assassination was the subject of Bernhard Jaumann's novel "The Hour of the Jackal" ISBN 978-1-9067-8042-5
References
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