Project name: AL3283
Date of interview: 26 October 2009
Location of interview: Centurion, Pretoria
Language/s of interview: Afrikaans
Length of interview: 2 minutes 34 seconds
Name of Interviewer: De Wet Potgieter
Name of interviewee/s: Colonel Lucas Ras
Name of translator (if any): De Wet Potgieter
Name of transcriber:
Notes on access and use (if any):
Audio file name/s of interview: AL3283_PTA_RASLUCAS_20091026_3
De Wet Dis Maandag 26 Oktober 2009, Centurion en ek sit en gesels hier met kolonel Lucas Ras wat vroeër jare voor 1994 was hy senior offisier in die veiligheidstak wat veral op die regses en op die linkses soos die MK, die Umkhonto we Sizwe soldate gewerk het. Lucas vertel net vir ons jy sê julle het redelik goeie inligting, goeie informante gehad in MK. Verduidelik net vir ons hoe het dit gewerk, hoe effektief was julle inderdaad want baie mense besef dit nie.
Lucas Ja, De Wet, ek wil net noem dat toe ek van Namibië af teruggekeer het 1989 is ek deur my voormalige bevelvoerder spesifiek opdrag gegee om MK te infiltreer en om MK-lede te werf. Ek het van ʼn veilige perseel af geopereer . Ons was so agt lede gewees wat van ʼn veilige perseel af gewerk het en ons het binne ʼn bestek van ses maande veertien MK-beriggewers gewerf . Sommige van die beriggewers het gewerk in Lusaka ander is op ander maniere gewerf. Ek kan ʼn spesifieke geval onthou van inligting wat ons opgevolg het van ʼn MK wat in die hospital was vir ʼn besering wat ons ontvoer het uit die hospitaal uit .
Ons het hom in ʼn bestek van twee dae het ons hom gewerf as ʼn beriggewer. Hy het ons gelei na ander MK’s wat in die land was wat ons ook gearresteer/ontvoer het wat ons hulle koppe geswaai het en deur middel van hulle het ons ook ander MK-beriggewers dan gewerf.
Een van die beriggewers was ook in die kommunikasie-afdeling. Die voormalige hoof van die weermag se vrou, Jackie Sedibe, was destyds hoof van die kommuikasie-afdeling in Lusaka en alle kommunikasie vanaf Lusaka na die RSA het deur my kantoor geloop.
De Wet Met ander woorde hulle het gedink hulle stuur hulle inligting hier na MK in Suid-Afrika, maar inderdaad gaan dit reguit deur na julle kantoor toe en julle hanteer dit.
Lucas Dis reg so. Al die opdragte vir infiltrasies vir daardie tyd, die roetes, die name van die mense wat sou infiltreer, hulle opdragte, sabotasie-opdragte alles was aan ons bekend voor die tyd, voordat die mense geїnfiltreer het.
Project name: AL3283
Date of interview: 26 October 2009
Location of interview: Centurion, Pretoria
Language/s of interview: Afrikaans
Length of interview: 2 minutes 34 seconds
Name of Interviewer: De Wet Potgieter
Name of interviewee/s: Colonel Lucas Ras
Name of translator (if any): De Wet Potgieter
Name of transcriber:
Notes on access and use (if any):
Audio file name/s of interview: AL3283_PTA_RASLUCAS_20091026_3
De Wet It is Monday 26 October 2009, Centurion, and I am talking with Colonel Lucas Ras who was before 1994 an officer in the security branch who had mainly concentrated on the right wing and the left wing like looking at the activities of MK cadres.
Lucas tell us more about the informants you handled inside MK. Also explain how it worked, how effective was it, because a lot of people do not know about it.
Lucas Yes, De Wet I would like to mention that when I came back from Namibia in 1989 I was given the spesific task by my commanding officer to infiltrate MK and to recruit members of MK.
I operated from a safehouse and within six months managed to recruit 14 MK informants. Some of them woprked in Lusaka and the others were recruited in other ways.
I recall one specific incident when we found out that the MK member was treated in a hospital for injuries. We abducted him from his hospital bed.
Within two days we recruited him as an informant. He lead us to other Mk members in the country. We also arrested/abducted them and turned their heads. In turn they assisted us to recruit more MK informants.
One of these informants were in MK’s communication department. The former head of the defence force’s sister, Jackie Sedibe, was in tohse days head of cimmunication in Lusaka. What in fact then happened that all ANC communication from Luska to South Africa wetn through my office.
De Wet In other words they they were under the impression they were sending inofmration to MK in South Africa, but it in fact was relayed to your office and handled from there.
Lucas That is correct. All orders for infiltration during that time, the routes, the names of the people who were going to infiltrate, their orders, sabotage assigments, everything we know beforehand before they infiltrate into the country.
Courtesy of The South African History Archive (SAHA)
Creator: Potgieter, De Wet Ras, Lucas
Contributing Institutions: The South African History Archive (SAHA); MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online at Michigan State University
Description: This interview with Colonel Lucas Ras, a former colonel in the SAP Security Branch's D branch unit, regarding Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) informants, consists of an audio recording, transcript and English translation. This interview was conducted, transcribed and translated by De Wet Potgieter on behalf of SAHA in 2009.
Date: October 26, 2009
Location: Pretoria, Gauteng, Republic of South Africa
Format: Audio/mp3
Language: Afrikaans
Rights Management: The South African History Archive (SAHA)