Dead man walking - McBride bomb victim
Some call him a dead man walking, and for the past 25 years Rudi van der Merwe has sometimes felt dead.
The former policeman was severely injured when two limpet mines exploded at the Jacobs substation on January 9, 1986, and his life was changed forever.
The former policeman was severely injured when two limpet mines exploded at the Jacobs substation on January 9, 1986, and his life was changed forever.
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“He (Robert McBride) had a job to do, I had a job to do, but I am still suffering and he is not suffering,” he said.
Robert McBride, who took responsibility for the bombing, was quoted in reports as saying: “The first bomb blast was intended to cause economic damage and (act) as a propaganda campaign. In the reports, McBride said the bombings were intended to mark the ANC’s birthday.
Speaking to the Sunday Tribune this week about the 25-year anniversary of the incident, Van der Merwe said he was working as a policeman when he responded to a call of duty. |
Survivor of the Jacobs substation bombing in January 9, 1986, Rudi Van Der Merwe who's life has been nothing but a battle recently celebrated 25 years since the incident and has been battling with the compesation fund. Picture: Sandile Ndlovu
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As the then detective sergeant of the Brighton Beach station, it was business as usual for him on that fateful day. “I went to work as usual. I was on standby.” Van der Merwe said they received a report of an explosion at the Jacobs electricity substation on Chamberlain Road. “My team went to see if the place was safe and within 10 minutes, the second explosion went off. It felt like an electric shock. It felt like I was standing on electric cables. I didn’t realise I was in flames,” said Van der Merwe.
Eighty percent of his body was severely burnt and Van der Merwe’s colleagues, Mervyn Dunn, Dudley Booysens and Vincent Zimmerman also suffered burns. Another colleague, Robert Welman, later died of his injuries. Van der Merwe was in hospital for five months and recovered at home for 18 months. Although he returned to work, he was eventually medically boarded in May 1997.
Van der Merwe said that before the incident he had been very active and sociable and was a good father. ”I joined the police force because I wanted to help other people and I wanted to make sure that justice was done,” he said. “I had a very good social life. I had lots of friends.” However, Van der Merwe said all of that came to an end after the incident. His wife divorced him in 1998 and he has lost touch with his children. “It was difficult for my family to see me in that position; they had to accept what had happened and that I couldn’t do the things I used to do with them,” he said. Now his legs are often swollen, especially during summer. “My legs ooze puss and sometimes when I get an infection, I have to be hospitalised.”
Looking at his face, the 53-year-old seems in normal health, but as your eyes wander down, you notice the scars on his legs, the missing pinkie finger and that one foot appears larger than normal.
When people see him they stare. “Kids ask their parents what is wrong. They come to me and I tell them, ‘I was burnt in a bomb.’ If they want to feel, I let them touch,” he said.
However, his personal battle with his body is nothing like the one he faces with the Department of Labour. According to Van der Merwe, the last time his doctor received any payment for medical fees was in 2006. When he was in hospital for six weeks in 2008, the hospital informed him they were not paid for his hospital fees. “I was not aware the hospital was not paid, so I started to query what was happening,” he said. He said the department settled the hospital claim in 2009.
“The accountants at my doctor’s office then called me in December (last year) and told me that the doctor will not treat me anymore because they haven’t been paid. “So if anything happens, I cannot go to the hospital, the clinic or see a doctor.”
The Compensation Fund’s Vincent Nubzanani said: “All Mr Van der Merwe needs to do is to re-apply for his claim and we will re-open it. We paid for the claims and we will continue to pay for them.” However, Van der Merwe said he has gone through all the right channels to keep his file open, but no monies had yet been received.
Grateful
Van der Merwe said the police had played a big part in trying to help him. “I am grateful to the police; they have tried their best to assist me but I suppose they can only go so far.”
SAPS spokesman Colonel Vishnu Naidoo said: “The SAPS, together with the Compensation Commissioner (CC), accepted Van der Merwe’s injury on duty (IOD), and they awarded him 80 percent permanent disability. “We took it upon ourselves to engage the compensation commissioner as Van der Merwe needed ongoing medical treatment,” he said. Naidoo said the police took full responsibility for Van der Merwe’s medical accounts as he was injured on duty. SAPS said they are committed to looking after his wellbeing and making sure he gets the medical assistance he requires.
Van der Merwe said it is a positive attitude that keeps him sane. “I didn’t go for any psychological therapy - the doctors said I didn’t need it because I had a strong mind.” He said he accepted his situation. “I knew it was my duty, and that kept me going and still keeps me going. I don’t give up easily.” But the painful memories won’t go away, especially when he sees McBride on TV or reads a newspaper report about him. “I will never forgive him. I will never forget what he did to me and other people. When I see him on TV, I always think back to the incident. Sometimes I want to explode because whatever he does, he gets away with it,” he said.
He said while he sometimes feels angry and frustrated over what happened, he lives every day as it comes. “It is difficult, but I have managed for 25 years,” he said. “It’s a miracle that I am still alive.” - Sunday Tribune
Eighty percent of his body was severely burnt and Van der Merwe’s colleagues, Mervyn Dunn, Dudley Booysens and Vincent Zimmerman also suffered burns. Another colleague, Robert Welman, later died of his injuries. Van der Merwe was in hospital for five months and recovered at home for 18 months. Although he returned to work, he was eventually medically boarded in May 1997.
Van der Merwe said that before the incident he had been very active and sociable and was a good father. ”I joined the police force because I wanted to help other people and I wanted to make sure that justice was done,” he said. “I had a very good social life. I had lots of friends.” However, Van der Merwe said all of that came to an end after the incident. His wife divorced him in 1998 and he has lost touch with his children. “It was difficult for my family to see me in that position; they had to accept what had happened and that I couldn’t do the things I used to do with them,” he said. Now his legs are often swollen, especially during summer. “My legs ooze puss and sometimes when I get an infection, I have to be hospitalised.”
Looking at his face, the 53-year-old seems in normal health, but as your eyes wander down, you notice the scars on his legs, the missing pinkie finger and that one foot appears larger than normal.
When people see him they stare. “Kids ask their parents what is wrong. They come to me and I tell them, ‘I was burnt in a bomb.’ If they want to feel, I let them touch,” he said.
However, his personal battle with his body is nothing like the one he faces with the Department of Labour. According to Van der Merwe, the last time his doctor received any payment for medical fees was in 2006. When he was in hospital for six weeks in 2008, the hospital informed him they were not paid for his hospital fees. “I was not aware the hospital was not paid, so I started to query what was happening,” he said. He said the department settled the hospital claim in 2009.
“The accountants at my doctor’s office then called me in December (last year) and told me that the doctor will not treat me anymore because they haven’t been paid. “So if anything happens, I cannot go to the hospital, the clinic or see a doctor.”
The Compensation Fund’s Vincent Nubzanani said: “All Mr Van der Merwe needs to do is to re-apply for his claim and we will re-open it. We paid for the claims and we will continue to pay for them.” However, Van der Merwe said he has gone through all the right channels to keep his file open, but no monies had yet been received.
Grateful
Van der Merwe said the police had played a big part in trying to help him. “I am grateful to the police; they have tried their best to assist me but I suppose they can only go so far.”
SAPS spokesman Colonel Vishnu Naidoo said: “The SAPS, together with the Compensation Commissioner (CC), accepted Van der Merwe’s injury on duty (IOD), and they awarded him 80 percent permanent disability. “We took it upon ourselves to engage the compensation commissioner as Van der Merwe needed ongoing medical treatment,” he said. Naidoo said the police took full responsibility for Van der Merwe’s medical accounts as he was injured on duty. SAPS said they are committed to looking after his wellbeing and making sure he gets the medical assistance he requires.
Van der Merwe said it is a positive attitude that keeps him sane. “I didn’t go for any psychological therapy - the doctors said I didn’t need it because I had a strong mind.” He said he accepted his situation. “I knew it was my duty, and that kept me going and still keeps me going. I don’t give up easily.” But the painful memories won’t go away, especially when he sees McBride on TV or reads a newspaper report about him. “I will never forgive him. I will never forget what he did to me and other people. When I see him on TV, I always think back to the incident. Sometimes I want to explode because whatever he does, he gets away with it,” he said.
He said while he sometimes feels angry and frustrated over what happened, he lives every day as it comes. “It is difficult, but I have managed for 25 years,” he said. “It’s a miracle that I am still alive.” - Sunday Tribune
NOTE BY WEBMASTER: Rudi van der Merwe is alive and well at time of posting this article - (05 July 2017)
The following is a brief summary of the crimes for which McBride was granted amnesty by the TRC:
Sourced from: Tia Mysoa
3 SEPTEMBER 1985
McBride and his accomplices burned down his former school, Fairvale Senior Secondary School, because he believed the education provided there was of inferior quality. McBride poured petrol onto the building and set it alight.
6 JANUARY 1986
McBride was an accomplice to an attempted sabotage on the sub-station at Cato Manor. The operation was aborted when they activated an alarm while cutting a hole into the fence to facilitate entry.
9 JANUARY 1986
McBride was an accomplice to the bombing of the Chamberlain Road sub-station in Jacobs, Durban. The blast killed one person and wounded four others. The blast was committed on that specific day to highlight the annual ANC statement delivered the previous day.
18 JANUARY 1986
McBride and his partner, the ANC activist Gordon Webster (aka Mark Mkhize), blew up the Huntley Hill substation, in Westville, Durban. No one was killed or injured.
20 JANUARY 1986
Similarly, as in the cases of the explosions at the Cato Manor and Huntley Hill incidents, Webster and McBride planted limpet mines, which caused damage at a pylon in Carrington Heights in Rossburgh, Durban. It is not known if anyone was injured or killed as a result of the explosions.
FEBRUARY 1986
As part-and-parcel of the ANC’s terrorist activities… to commit economic sabotage in South Africa and demonstrate MK military power, McBride blew up a water pipe near Pietermaritzburg, believing that it was a major pipeline for oil. No injuries or deaths were reported.
21 MARCH 1986
McBride blew up another sub-station near Chamberlain Road in Jacobs, Durban, using four land mines, strategically placed at the sub-station.
8 APRIL 1986
McBride and his accomplices launched a hand-grenade attack on the home of Mr Leaf, a school principle and also senior member of the Labour Party. Neither of the grenades were thrown accurately enough to penetrate through the glass panes. Consequently, all the grenades hit the outside walls of the house, resulting in zero injuries or deaths.
1 MAY 1986
McBride supplied a hand-grenade to two collaborators, who were planning on attacking the home of an- individual known as Mr Peter Klein. The collaborators received instructions from McBride on how to detonate and throw the hand-grenade. Both Mr and Mrs Klein were injured as a result of the attack.
4 MAY 1986
McBride, assisted Gordon Webster to escape from police custody at the Edenvale Hospital, in Pietermaritzburg. Webster was arrested by the South African Police during the latter part of April 1986. Shots fired by McBride during the escape killed a black man, Mlungize Buthelezi, and injured two others namely, Simpiwe Shage and Nkosinathi Nkabini.
23 MAY 1986
McBride planted a false bomb at the Pine street parkade in Durban, to make a political statement at a time when a group of foreigners were visiting South Africa. The foreigners came to be referred to as the "EMINENT PERSONS GROUP". Their aim was to broker a settlement in South Africa. No injuries, death or damages resulted from this incident.
14 JUNE 1986 – (THE MAGOO'S BAR BLOODBATH)
As commander of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cell in Durban, McBride was apparently instructed to execute the bombing on 14 June 1986, in remembrance of the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976.
McBride set up the plan, assisted by two accomplices. A vehicle containing 60 kg’s of explosives was parked in close proximity to the Magoos bar - a civilian establishment situated on Durban’s crowded beachfront. McBride, who believed that the bar was often frequented by security policemen, enabled the bomb and set the attached timing device, which detonated the explosives as planned, killing three innocent civilians and wounding 71 others. Eye witnesses to the incident later described the aftermath of the bombing as “a bloodbath.” – Source: www.justice.gov.za
McBride and his accomplices burned down his former school, Fairvale Senior Secondary School, because he believed the education provided there was of inferior quality. McBride poured petrol onto the building and set it alight.
6 JANUARY 1986
McBride was an accomplice to an attempted sabotage on the sub-station at Cato Manor. The operation was aborted when they activated an alarm while cutting a hole into the fence to facilitate entry.
9 JANUARY 1986
McBride was an accomplice to the bombing of the Chamberlain Road sub-station in Jacobs, Durban. The blast killed one person and wounded four others. The blast was committed on that specific day to highlight the annual ANC statement delivered the previous day.
18 JANUARY 1986
McBride and his partner, the ANC activist Gordon Webster (aka Mark Mkhize), blew up the Huntley Hill substation, in Westville, Durban. No one was killed or injured.
20 JANUARY 1986
Similarly, as in the cases of the explosions at the Cato Manor and Huntley Hill incidents, Webster and McBride planted limpet mines, which caused damage at a pylon in Carrington Heights in Rossburgh, Durban. It is not known if anyone was injured or killed as a result of the explosions.
FEBRUARY 1986
As part-and-parcel of the ANC’s terrorist activities… to commit economic sabotage in South Africa and demonstrate MK military power, McBride blew up a water pipe near Pietermaritzburg, believing that it was a major pipeline for oil. No injuries or deaths were reported.
21 MARCH 1986
McBride blew up another sub-station near Chamberlain Road in Jacobs, Durban, using four land mines, strategically placed at the sub-station.
8 APRIL 1986
McBride and his accomplices launched a hand-grenade attack on the home of Mr Leaf, a school principle and also senior member of the Labour Party. Neither of the grenades were thrown accurately enough to penetrate through the glass panes. Consequently, all the grenades hit the outside walls of the house, resulting in zero injuries or deaths.
1 MAY 1986
McBride supplied a hand-grenade to two collaborators, who were planning on attacking the home of an- individual known as Mr Peter Klein. The collaborators received instructions from McBride on how to detonate and throw the hand-grenade. Both Mr and Mrs Klein were injured as a result of the attack.
4 MAY 1986
McBride, assisted Gordon Webster to escape from police custody at the Edenvale Hospital, in Pietermaritzburg. Webster was arrested by the South African Police during the latter part of April 1986. Shots fired by McBride during the escape killed a black man, Mlungize Buthelezi, and injured two others namely, Simpiwe Shage and Nkosinathi Nkabini.
23 MAY 1986
McBride planted a false bomb at the Pine street parkade in Durban, to make a political statement at a time when a group of foreigners were visiting South Africa. The foreigners came to be referred to as the "EMINENT PERSONS GROUP". Their aim was to broker a settlement in South Africa. No injuries, death or damages resulted from this incident.
14 JUNE 1986 – (THE MAGOO'S BAR BLOODBATH)
As commander of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cell in Durban, McBride was apparently instructed to execute the bombing on 14 June 1986, in remembrance of the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976.
McBride set up the plan, assisted by two accomplices. A vehicle containing 60 kg’s of explosives was parked in close proximity to the Magoos bar - a civilian establishment situated on Durban’s crowded beachfront. McBride, who believed that the bar was often frequented by security policemen, enabled the bomb and set the attached timing device, which detonated the explosives as planned, killing three innocent civilians and wounding 71 others. Eye witnesses to the incident later described the aftermath of the bombing as “a bloodbath.” – Source: www.justice.gov.za
McBride was convicted of the Magoo’s bar bombing, and sentenced to death. However, lady luck was on his side as the South African government had declared a moratorium on capital punishment in 1990. Then suddenly another man, on the other end of the political spectrum, appeared on the scene -- namely, Barend Strydom (aka Wit Wolf) who was convicted of eight counts of murder, and who was also sentenced to death. Both men, together with 150 other political prisoners, were eventually released from jail after a deal between FW de Klerk’s National Party government and the ANC in 1992. The TRC subsequently granted both men amnesty for their crimes.
21 JUNE 1986 – (THREE SABOTAGE INCIDENTS IN ONE DAY)
- A Mobil Oil pipeline at Umlaas was blown up by two limpet mines, causing an estimated damage of one million rand.
- A tanker carrying corrosive chemicals, and situated in the centre of Durban’s industrial area, was blown up by limpet mines.
- McBride, together with an accomplice, drove to South Street, Durban, with intentions of blowing up a police vehicle. The plans changed when they suspected that the police had seen them, and the limpet mine ended up in a trash can outside an establishment known at the time as the "Copper Shop". The mine later exploded causing damage to the building.
29 JUNE 1986
McBride was involved in the bombing of water pipe lines which routed water to the industrial area of New Germany outside Durban, causing extensive damage to the water supply in the area.
McBride was involved in the bombing of water pipe lines which routed water to the industrial area of New Germany outside Durban, causing extensive damage to the water supply in the area.
Sourced from: Tia Mysoa
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