The funeral service of Mark Minnie, the co-author of the book “Lost Boys of Bird Island” will take place in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
It is alleged the former policeman committed suicide last week at his friend’s smallholding in Theescombe, days after the book was published.
He co-wrote the book with journalist Chris Steyn. The book implicates three former National Party ministers in the 1980s in an alleged paedophile ring.
Now 31 years later, community members who wish to remain anonymous for their own safety, have spoken out. In the book, Minnie says young boys of mixed race were targets in the 1980’s when the alleged paedophile ring operated out of Port Elizabeth.
The ring included three Nationalist Party ministers including John Wiley, police reservist and businessman Dave Allen and Defence Minister Magnus Malan.
Three decades later stories of the children who disappeared are coming to light. Community members say Gelvendale, North End, Salt Lake, and Uitenhage were areas young boys were reported missing.
In the book a victim speaks about a minibus that would often lure children.
“I was very young at that the time and I just started working. In the mornings I heard from the mothers in the community that a minibus was collecting children in Gelvendale. One day I remember the mothers walked their children to school because the day before there was a minibus that was driving around, a blue minibus that was abducting children and this went on for a while. I know that the parents did open up a case and after that it went quiet, that’s all that I remember,” says a community member.
Minnie also describes a popular eatery in North End which was a hangout for homeless children and prostitutes. The book describes how one of the alleged perpetrators Dave Allen would often pick up young boys at this spot.
Children were offered money in exchange for sexual favours. Thereafter they would be persuaded and ferried to Bird Island in defence force helicopters.
An elderly woman who grew up in the Northern areas remembers the stories.
“When I heard that this has come out, it bothered me and upset me a lot because then it all came back. All those things came back what my dad told me because I thought back on those coloured children, what they went through. When I think back I ask myself how did these children feel, it has all come back to me and it scares and upsets me. If I think about what is coming out now in the news, it takes me back when my dad told me the story.”
A former police officer who worked with Minnie in the police force before a democratic South Africa says it was difficult as a police officer during those years.
“I can say that some of the things he says could be true, definitely, because I remember we worked before South Africa was democratic. It was very difficult for us as policemen. On the one side you were shocked when you read the stuff and could not believe what he went through, because obviously he went through it and saw things because he was not the type of man to lie about such serious things. When I heard what happened to him, I was very shocked because you don’t expect suicide from someone like Mark, to take his life… I still don’t believe it. He was not that kind of a man, he was a positive man someone who you can look up to in life,” says former police man Elmar De Beer.
Renowned independent forensic investigator, Dr David Klatzow is investigating circumstances around the death of Mark Minnie. It is believed that Minnie had uncovered more evidence and was planning to reveal all in a follow up book.
Some family members believe Minnie was killed to silence him.
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