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The Lost Boys of Bird Island: A shocking exposé from within the heart of the NP government
It is the late 1980s. Serious allegations surface against three prominent National Party cabinet ministers, one of them the second-most powerful man in the country. They are, it is said, regularly abusing young boys on an island just off the coast of Port Elizabeth. From opposite ends of South Africa, a brave cop and a driven journalist investigate. Mark Minnie and Chris Steyn independently uncover evidence of a dark secret. But the case only surfaces briefly before it disappears completely. Thirty years later, the two finally connect the dots to expose this shocking story of criminality, cover-ups and official complicity in the rape and possible murder of children, most of them vulnerable and black.
223 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
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August 31, 2018
I was gob smacked after reading THE LOST BOYS OF BIRD ISLAND. To think that two independent sources followed the same story and got to the same result. This is riveting reading.
If we think that we now know of all the nonsense that went on in the Nationalist Party we are mistaken- there is much more terrifying information still coming out. May the perpetrators never rest in peace.
This book is sad as well as horrifying and to think it happened under our very noses - there are dreadful people out there now and in the past and to think that they had such POWER.
What made the book even more shocking is that one of the two authors apparently "committed suicide" two weeks ago. What a joke! That was murder.
A must read for South Africans.
If we think that we now know of all the nonsense that went on in the Nationalist Party we are mistaken- there is much more terrifying information still coming out. May the perpetrators never rest in peace.
This book is sad as well as horrifying and to think it happened under our very noses - there are dreadful people out there now and in the past and to think that they had such POWER.
What made the book even more shocking is that one of the two authors apparently "committed suicide" two weeks ago. What a joke! That was murder.
A must read for South Africans.
August 27, 2018
The following review first appeared on Politicsweb on 24 August 2018 [http://www.politicsweb.co.za/opinion/...]
I only twice met National Party patriarchy. The first was when as a conscript Adriaan Vlok, then South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Defence, addressed my battalion in typical ministerial attire: conservative grey suit, black hat, grey shoes. The year was 1985. The place, Port Elizabeth. He and his wife had come to thank us for upholding apartheid from the cover of our armoured vehicles, which involved patrolling the townships by night, handing out candy to children by day.
After the address, and in an absurd display of juvenility, we were each made to act out a handshake gimmick with the minister’s wife, a trick that kids would perform on the playground, which entailed shaking hands and then, with thumbs still locked, twiddling ones fingers as if to wave goodbye. Nothing more, nothing less. An innocent, child-like gesture.
The second incident took place many years later on an airport shuttle bus ferrying passengers from the terminal to the plane. The airport, renamed after the anti-apartheid revolutionary ANC leader Oliver Tambo, must have stuck in the craw of the man who stood before me, arm outstretched, holding on to the overhead safety strap, and whom I immediately recognized (and shuddered at recognizing), even from eight foot away.
It wasn’t the man’s build, which had by now become diminutive and stooped, or his characteristic military uniform, which he no longer wore, or shall I say, no longer dared to wear, or even his bush-hardened leather tan… but the ears, the unmistakable, protruding ears. The man was Magnus Malan, former Minister of Defence and President P.W. Botha’s right hand man during the eighties, the darkest, most brutal period of apartheid.
As the enforcer of what was then labelled the ‘total strategy,’ he oversaw the birth of several covert organizations, including the feared, albeit deceptively named Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB). He was also the man in charge of all covert operations during a period of cross border raids and military-provoked assassinations, including that of anti-apartheid operatives Dulcie September in Paris, and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in Stockholm, long believed to have been carried out by South African operatives. He was also complicit in a series of atrocities, which in hindsight one might regard as crimes against humanity, all of which he got away with to live his life out in relative peace and quiet until his death in 2011.
But now, according to a new book by ex-policeman Mark Minnie and former journalist Chris Steyn, The Lost Boys of Bird Island, it seems the man who instilled fear in the hearts of a generation, and who ruled South Africa’s defence forces with an iron fist, got away with more than he could ever have imagined. The book, a page-turner which takes the form of alternating chapters by both authors – one written in the pulp fiction style of hardboiled crime, the other with the measured pacing of a circumspect journalist – had its genesis in the late eighties, and is based on the first-hand accounts of two unexpected collaborators from different sides of the ideological coin.
Mark Minnie, an undercover narcotics policeman in Port Elizabeth was called upon by his superior to investigate an incident involving a young boy who had been admitted to hospital for what appeared to be a sexual assault-related injury. Minnie immediately set to work investigating the story which lead him via a sequence of small-time drug dealers to a Port Elizabeth-based owner of a guano concession, Dave Allen, referred to in the book as uncle Dave, and then on to a government cabinet minister, John Wiley, the minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and ultimately to the Minister of Defence himself, General Magnus Malan, the second most powerful man in South Africa at the time, whom Minnie refers to in the book as ‘wingnut’ because of the uncanny resemblance to the hardware of the same name (not that anyone would have dared call the general that or any other nickname during the dark period I speak of). Only one man was more powerful at the time, Die Groot Krokodil, President P.W. Botha.
Miles away, and on the other side of the ideological coin, and co-author of the book, is Chris Steyn, at the time a journalist with the left-leaning Cape Times. The rumour of high-level involvement in what appeared to be a paedophile sex ring on Bird Island, an island off the coast of Port Elizabeth where ‘uncle Dave’ operated his fertilizer business, arrived at her shores via a wave of undisclosed informants. She too set to work investigating the story in an atmosphere of draconian suppression against the press, in part directed by none other than General Magnus Malan himself, and a host of ever-tightening laws against the media that was fast becoming virulently anti-apartheid.
As is wont to happen when paedophiles are unmasked, the book frustrates the resolution-seeking reader when uncle Dave commits suicide on the morning that he was supposed to make his first court appearance, for his role in what was increasingly beginning to look like a paedophile sex ring. Days later, as the noose of the story began slowly to tighten around the neck of John Wiley, uncle Dave’s friend, and the cabinet minister who had granted uncle Dave the guano concession in the first place, he too commits suicide in similar fashion: a single shot to the head.
And so the story would have ended had it not been for a few pesky details, a determined cop, and a journalist once described as being an ‘unguided missile.’ According to the book, upon further investigation, the discrepancies surrounding the deaths of both the guano concession owner and the politician were enough to launch a thousand question marks.
Uncle Dave was found on the beach with a 9mm Walther Parabellum in his hand and with what seemed to be a self-inflicted wound to the head. Experts, however, maintain that with the recoil of this specific type of semi-automatic pistol, it would have been near-impossible for it to still be in the suicide victim’s hand after discharge. In the case of the environment minister, the bedroom in which he was found appeared to have been locked from the inside, but bizarrely, no key was found.
Curiously, no gunpowder residue was found on the forehead of Allen, either, nor on the hands of Wiley. And to round off matters, uncle Dave left a surfeit of suicide notes next to his body, more than were necessary, including a peculiar note – a directive – instructing the coroner to treat his body with care, whereas Wiley, a known, commensurate note-writer, did not.
But, to harken the words of John Adams: ‘facts are stubborn things.’ Neither the intrepid reporter (and it is this that keeps the pages turning), nor the undercover policeman would let go of the story. Only when Minnie was transferred away from his precinct, his case files mysteriously disappearing from his office overnight, and only when pressure was applied to the editor of the Cape Times for the paper to curtail Steyn’s dogged investigation into the case, did the story finally recede from public consciousness. These were heady times in South Africa, with enough daily political developments (boycotts, bombings, assassinations) to topple yesterday’s news from the headlines, presaging the ‘24-hour news cycle’ before it had been so aptly named.
It would take thirty years for the ex-journalist and ex-cop to finally reconnect, and to put pen to paper detailing the sordid events from the past. The sensationalist occurrences described in the book – with enough circumstantial evidence to make them stick, and even after so many years including several post-apartheid governments, plus with one of the accused allegedly still walking among us, an unnamed former cabinet minister – was bound to stir up a hornets’ nest. And stir up it did.
The publication was embargoed until the very last minute, potential book launches were cancelled for security reasons, and PDFs were surprisingly not leaked. But, and this is where non-fiction takes on the mien of fiction, shortly after the book first appeared on the book shelves, ex-cop and co-author Mark Minnie’s body was found in Port Elizabeth where he was visiting a friend. He, too, died from a single bullet to the head.
Tafelberg, the book’s publisher, put out a statement announcing the sudden death of Minnie. According to the statement, his body was found on a smallholding near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday August 14. He had said nothing to Tafelberg in the period prior to his death to indicate that he might harm himself. He was by all accounts excited about the publication of the book and the revelations contained within.
The book “was only the beginning,” he told Steyn and others, and at the time of his purported suicide was allegedly following up several leads in Port Elizabeth, determined to reveal further evidence, and excited about an upcoming book fair. Hardly the utterances of a man who wanted to end it all. In a final email to Steyn, Minnie wrote,
“Finally I get to rest. The pitiful cries of the lost boys of Bird Island have haunted me for the past thirty one years. At last their story is out. Chrissy, don’t give up now. You’re almost home.”
I only twice met National Party patriarchy. The first was when as a conscript Adriaan Vlok, then South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Defence, addressed my battalion in typical ministerial attire: conservative grey suit, black hat, grey shoes. The year was 1985. The place, Port Elizabeth. He and his wife had come to thank us for upholding apartheid from the cover of our armoured vehicles, which involved patrolling the townships by night, handing out candy to children by day.
After the address, and in an absurd display of juvenility, we were each made to act out a handshake gimmick with the minister’s wife, a trick that kids would perform on the playground, which entailed shaking hands and then, with thumbs still locked, twiddling ones fingers as if to wave goodbye. Nothing more, nothing less. An innocent, child-like gesture.
The second incident took place many years later on an airport shuttle bus ferrying passengers from the terminal to the plane. The airport, renamed after the anti-apartheid revolutionary ANC leader Oliver Tambo, must have stuck in the craw of the man who stood before me, arm outstretched, holding on to the overhead safety strap, and whom I immediately recognized (and shuddered at recognizing), even from eight foot away.
It wasn’t the man’s build, which had by now become diminutive and stooped, or his characteristic military uniform, which he no longer wore, or shall I say, no longer dared to wear, or even his bush-hardened leather tan… but the ears, the unmistakable, protruding ears. The man was Magnus Malan, former Minister of Defence and President P.W. Botha’s right hand man during the eighties, the darkest, most brutal period of apartheid.
As the enforcer of what was then labelled the ‘total strategy,’ he oversaw the birth of several covert organizations, including the feared, albeit deceptively named Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB). He was also the man in charge of all covert operations during a period of cross border raids and military-provoked assassinations, including that of anti-apartheid operatives Dulcie September in Paris, and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in Stockholm, long believed to have been carried out by South African operatives. He was also complicit in a series of atrocities, which in hindsight one might regard as crimes against humanity, all of which he got away with to live his life out in relative peace and quiet until his death in 2011.
But now, according to a new book by ex-policeman Mark Minnie and former journalist Chris Steyn, The Lost Boys of Bird Island, it seems the man who instilled fear in the hearts of a generation, and who ruled South Africa’s defence forces with an iron fist, got away with more than he could ever have imagined. The book, a page-turner which takes the form of alternating chapters by both authors – one written in the pulp fiction style of hardboiled crime, the other with the measured pacing of a circumspect journalist – had its genesis in the late eighties, and is based on the first-hand accounts of two unexpected collaborators from different sides of the ideological coin.
Mark Minnie, an undercover narcotics policeman in Port Elizabeth was called upon by his superior to investigate an incident involving a young boy who had been admitted to hospital for what appeared to be a sexual assault-related injury. Minnie immediately set to work investigating the story which lead him via a sequence of small-time drug dealers to a Port Elizabeth-based owner of a guano concession, Dave Allen, referred to in the book as uncle Dave, and then on to a government cabinet minister, John Wiley, the minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and ultimately to the Minister of Defence himself, General Magnus Malan, the second most powerful man in South Africa at the time, whom Minnie refers to in the book as ‘wingnut’ because of the uncanny resemblance to the hardware of the same name (not that anyone would have dared call the general that or any other nickname during the dark period I speak of). Only one man was more powerful at the time, Die Groot Krokodil, President P.W. Botha.
Miles away, and on the other side of the ideological coin, and co-author of the book, is Chris Steyn, at the time a journalist with the left-leaning Cape Times. The rumour of high-level involvement in what appeared to be a paedophile sex ring on Bird Island, an island off the coast of Port Elizabeth where ‘uncle Dave’ operated his fertilizer business, arrived at her shores via a wave of undisclosed informants. She too set to work investigating the story in an atmosphere of draconian suppression against the press, in part directed by none other than General Magnus Malan himself, and a host of ever-tightening laws against the media that was fast becoming virulently anti-apartheid.
As is wont to happen when paedophiles are unmasked, the book frustrates the resolution-seeking reader when uncle Dave commits suicide on the morning that he was supposed to make his first court appearance, for his role in what was increasingly beginning to look like a paedophile sex ring. Days later, as the noose of the story began slowly to tighten around the neck of John Wiley, uncle Dave’s friend, and the cabinet minister who had granted uncle Dave the guano concession in the first place, he too commits suicide in similar fashion: a single shot to the head.
And so the story would have ended had it not been for a few pesky details, a determined cop, and a journalist once described as being an ‘unguided missile.’ According to the book, upon further investigation, the discrepancies surrounding the deaths of both the guano concession owner and the politician were enough to launch a thousand question marks.
Uncle Dave was found on the beach with a 9mm Walther Parabellum in his hand and with what seemed to be a self-inflicted wound to the head. Experts, however, maintain that with the recoil of this specific type of semi-automatic pistol, it would have been near-impossible for it to still be in the suicide victim’s hand after discharge. In the case of the environment minister, the bedroom in which he was found appeared to have been locked from the inside, but bizarrely, no key was found.
Curiously, no gunpowder residue was found on the forehead of Allen, either, nor on the hands of Wiley. And to round off matters, uncle Dave left a surfeit of suicide notes next to his body, more than were necessary, including a peculiar note – a directive – instructing the coroner to treat his body with care, whereas Wiley, a known, commensurate note-writer, did not.
But, to harken the words of John Adams: ‘facts are stubborn things.’ Neither the intrepid reporter (and it is this that keeps the pages turning), nor the undercover policeman would let go of the story. Only when Minnie was transferred away from his precinct, his case files mysteriously disappearing from his office overnight, and only when pressure was applied to the editor of the Cape Times for the paper to curtail Steyn’s dogged investigation into the case, did the story finally recede from public consciousness. These were heady times in South Africa, with enough daily political developments (boycotts, bombings, assassinations) to topple yesterday’s news from the headlines, presaging the ‘24-hour news cycle’ before it had been so aptly named.
It would take thirty years for the ex-journalist and ex-cop to finally reconnect, and to put pen to paper detailing the sordid events from the past. The sensationalist occurrences described in the book – with enough circumstantial evidence to make them stick, and even after so many years including several post-apartheid governments, plus with one of the accused allegedly still walking among us, an unnamed former cabinet minister – was bound to stir up a hornets’ nest. And stir up it did.
The publication was embargoed until the very last minute, potential book launches were cancelled for security reasons, and PDFs were surprisingly not leaked. But, and this is where non-fiction takes on the mien of fiction, shortly after the book first appeared on the book shelves, ex-cop and co-author Mark Minnie’s body was found in Port Elizabeth where he was visiting a friend. He, too, died from a single bullet to the head.
Tafelberg, the book’s publisher, put out a statement announcing the sudden death of Minnie. According to the statement, his body was found on a smallholding near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday August 14. He had said nothing to Tafelberg in the period prior to his death to indicate that he might harm himself. He was by all accounts excited about the publication of the book and the revelations contained within.
The book “was only the beginning,” he told Steyn and others, and at the time of his purported suicide was allegedly following up several leads in Port Elizabeth, determined to reveal further evidence, and excited about an upcoming book fair. Hardly the utterances of a man who wanted to end it all. In a final email to Steyn, Minnie wrote,
“Finally I get to rest. The pitiful cries of the lost boys of Bird Island have haunted me for the past thirty one years. At last their story is out. Chrissy, don’t give up now. You’re almost home.”
March 14, 2021
Chilling real life story of pedophiles in the highest circles of government in South Africa.
August 31, 2018
You can be forgiven for thinking that you are reading a Deon Meyer novel in parts of this book. Then the realization dawns that this is a real, shocking expose’
Because of the time lapse, it leaves many loose threads.
The reader knows there is more.
And there is the matter of the unnamed, still living, implicated person.
This confirms that we have been living in a country (South Africa) of no consequences for longer than we think...
Because of the time lapse, it leaves many loose threads.
The reader knows there is more.
And there is the matter of the unnamed, still living, implicated person.
This confirms that we have been living in a country (South Africa) of no consequences for longer than we think...
August 10, 2018
An awful story and brave work by Minnie and Steyn.
Very vague and not breaking news. More of a call to get witnesses. It's not a gripping read, but I'm glad I supported the authors in buying it as they really worked on on story. Also the third minister isn't named and he should be!
Very vague and not breaking news. More of a call to get witnesses. It's not a gripping read, but I'm glad I supported the authors in buying it as they really worked on on story. Also the third minister isn't named and he should be!
February 22, 2021
This book was frustrating for multiple reasons: its subject matter, of course, which is nothing short of heartbreaking; begrudgingly conceding to the fact that lowlifes like those could simply get away with something as horrifying as this; and the writing and format of the book.
I just wish the writing wasn’t as underwhelming as it was. The difference in the tone of voice between both Mark and Chris is very apparent and not in a good way. One read like a YA novel, while the other had its journalistic cadence. Although their levels do catch-up in the latter part of the book. And then it kind of went downhill from there because it was all just reiteration of the same information by different people of all these different political organizations and parties. Things started mashing together and then...done, that’s it. The book is over.
I just wish the writing wasn’t as underwhelming as it was. The difference in the tone of voice between both Mark and Chris is very apparent and not in a good way. One read like a YA novel, while the other had its journalistic cadence. Although their levels do catch-up in the latter part of the book. And then it kind of went downhill from there because it was all just reiteration of the same information by different people of all these different political organizations and parties. Things started mashing together and then...done, that’s it. The book is over.
August 9, 2018
Ek weet nie hoe om hierdie boek te "rate" nie. Hoe kan 'n mens sê jy het van so 'n boek gehou? Die boek is egter so geskryf dat dit maklik lees en mens boei tot die laaste bladsy. Is dit die waarheid? Dit sal my nie verbaas nie. Mag het nog meesal mense korrup gemaak en hier was een van die magtigste mans oënskynlik betrokke. Ek hoop dat die waarheid sal uitkom, want die slagoffers verdien om gehoor te word. Wat ek wel glo, is dat die ou NP regering erge misdade gepleeg het in die naam van staatsveiligheid. En vir mense wat vra of die huidige regering enigsins beter is... Mens meet nie jou eie integriteit aan ander mense s'n of gebrek daaraan nie. Two wrongs can never make a right.
August 17, 2018
I found this sad, but topical, controversial book riveting reading. Hopefully, those then-children affected will come forward and find peace, and the truth surfaces so that Minnie and Steyn's brave and dedicated investigative efforts have not been in vain. I closed the book with the feeling that all is not said and done concerning this matter and that the book has simply served as background for what is to come.
Some grammatical errors did not distract me from the content. Perhaps they have been left as written for credibility purposes. 4.5 stars
Some grammatical errors did not distract me from the content. Perhaps they have been left as written for credibility purposes. 4.5 stars
August 9, 2018
It was a good read, I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Minnie's point of view.
April 23, 2019
★★★☆☆ / 3 out of 5
I'm so conflicted on this book as there is no one to dispute the facts however the writers never had any concrete evidence and nowhere in the book does it state "alleged" rape victims. They sold this as a non fiction but there were 3 different versions of the book on Mark Minnie's laptop? Why? If you are telling the truth, why omit certain information?
The book investigates a paedophile network that allegedly included prominent members of the South African government and business community who took children to Bird Island where they were abused, and some possibly murdered. It details the level of their involvement in the paedophile ring, abuse of the children, alleged acts of murder to cover up the crimes, as well as corruption and abuse of state resources by the network's members.
The thing with this book is - whatever true or not , the results will be devastating. People's lives have been ruined regardless and it's very easy to blame someone if they are not hear anymore because they can't defend themselves. 3 out of the 4 political parties mentioned (1 is not mentioned but recent investigation has identified the member of the previous president's cabinet) is long gone by apparent suicide and one of the writers of the book has also committed suicide after receiving some backlash regarding this novel. The remains a few unanswered questions?
1)What happened to the boys of Bird Island?
On the final page of The Lost Boys of Bird Island, Mark Minnie appeals to victims of the alleged paedophilia ring to come forward. "Any victims who suffered at the hands of Dave Allen and company, let your voices be heard. Do not remain silent any longer." Nobody knows what came of the two boys he interview during his investigation and the others who were alleged victims of rape and molestation at the hands of ministers.
2)The mystery matron & 10k
Minnie was sent by his brigadier to speak to a woman her son about "information." He later discovered and interviewed a young boy who had been raped. He had a nurse who was a contact at the hospital and she detailed an incident that happened when she was on night shift.
She said a helicopter had landed, a patient was wheeled into the private ward by three men dressed in grey suits and only the matron was allowed to tend to him. The nurse told Minnie she had peeked into the room and there was a young coloured boy being treated. There was, however, no record of the boy nor of him being in hospital. The matron who had helped the boy mysteriously disappeared, but Minnie tracked her down and she said she had been given R10,000. There was no mention of this matron again..
3)The surgeon, the unnamed minister and flight logs
Both authors mention a surgeon who operated on a boy who had been raped. At the time he said he could not reveal information as it "violates patient confidentiality."
Steyn made contact with the surgeon in 2017. She said he had become a wine farmer and wrote to him to ask for any information about performing a life-saving operation on a young boy 30 years ago. He took the same stance and said it violated patient confidentiality.
Steyn mentions sources who detailed how the ministers had flown by helicopter to Bird Island. Steyn was told that the logs of passengers who were on the flights weren't likely to be found as the entire "record keeping system has collapsed."
The authors name a second location where boys were allegedly raped and molested. This location is allegedly "a farm" in Witelsbos, near Eerste Rivier, and was a property that belonged to the unnamed minister.
My final views on this that it is disturbing and that they should have gathered concrete evidence before publishing any material like this also I think that I won't put these horrible acts past anyone. Humans are capable of alot and terrible things. Anything is possible.
I'm so conflicted on this book as there is no one to dispute the facts however the writers never had any concrete evidence and nowhere in the book does it state "alleged" rape victims. They sold this as a non fiction but there were 3 different versions of the book on Mark Minnie's laptop? Why? If you are telling the truth, why omit certain information?
The book investigates a paedophile network that allegedly included prominent members of the South African government and business community who took children to Bird Island where they were abused, and some possibly murdered. It details the level of their involvement in the paedophile ring, abuse of the children, alleged acts of murder to cover up the crimes, as well as corruption and abuse of state resources by the network's members.
The thing with this book is - whatever true or not , the results will be devastating. People's lives have been ruined regardless and it's very easy to blame someone if they are not hear anymore because they can't defend themselves. 3 out of the 4 political parties mentioned (1 is not mentioned but recent investigation has identified the member of the previous president's cabinet) is long gone by apparent suicide and one of the writers of the book has also committed suicide after receiving some backlash regarding this novel. The remains a few unanswered questions?
1)What happened to the boys of Bird Island?
On the final page of The Lost Boys of Bird Island, Mark Minnie appeals to victims of the alleged paedophilia ring to come forward. "Any victims who suffered at the hands of Dave Allen and company, let your voices be heard. Do not remain silent any longer." Nobody knows what came of the two boys he interview during his investigation and the others who were alleged victims of rape and molestation at the hands of ministers.
2)The mystery matron & 10k
Minnie was sent by his brigadier to speak to a woman her son about "information." He later discovered and interviewed a young boy who had been raped. He had a nurse who was a contact at the hospital and she detailed an incident that happened when she was on night shift.
She said a helicopter had landed, a patient was wheeled into the private ward by three men dressed in grey suits and only the matron was allowed to tend to him. The nurse told Minnie she had peeked into the room and there was a young coloured boy being treated. There was, however, no record of the boy nor of him being in hospital. The matron who had helped the boy mysteriously disappeared, but Minnie tracked her down and she said she had been given R10,000. There was no mention of this matron again..
3)The surgeon, the unnamed minister and flight logs
Both authors mention a surgeon who operated on a boy who had been raped. At the time he said he could not reveal information as it "violates patient confidentiality."
Steyn made contact with the surgeon in 2017. She said he had become a wine farmer and wrote to him to ask for any information about performing a life-saving operation on a young boy 30 years ago. He took the same stance and said it violated patient confidentiality.
Steyn mentions sources who detailed how the ministers had flown by helicopter to Bird Island. Steyn was told that the logs of passengers who were on the flights weren't likely to be found as the entire "record keeping system has collapsed."
The authors name a second location where boys were allegedly raped and molested. This location is allegedly "a farm" in Witelsbos, near Eerste Rivier, and was a property that belonged to the unnamed minister.
My final views on this that it is disturbing and that they should have gathered concrete evidence before publishing any material like this also I think that I won't put these horrible acts past anyone. Humans are capable of alot and terrible things. Anything is possible.
December 31, 2018
I waited for this story to come out for over twenty years. I first read about it in the Sunday Times all those years ago. The story just died and I always wondered why. Every now and then I would try and see what happened to the story but there was nothing, until this book. I have no doubt that the allegations are true. However I think the book could have had more substance for instance copies of the newspaper articles written when the story first broke.
I don’t think the truth will ever come out.
I don’t think the truth will ever come out.
January 19, 2019
So our Apartheid forefathers weren’t just satisfied with, oh, ALL the atrocities of the world, but they also harmed boys. Then, they either got silenced (like with a gun) or they are still living and dying in comfort.
And just when we try to grasp the straws flung at us of ‘Apartheid’s over so get over it’ for comfort, we get the news that one of the two writers of this book conveniently committed suicide after making his own laptop go missing. His calls for witnesses or victims to expose a ‘Third Minister’ are now silenced.
The book is pretty roundabout and tedious, filled with details and vague hints. The dead perpetrators are mentioned by name but you can clearly see the writers holding back, either thinking of legal implications or safety risks.
When you think about it, the caution didn’t help much.
A real life lesson that Apartheid teems with rotten stories not yet uncovered - and not uncovered because Apartheid is so alive and well that those who know are silent for their own safety.
And just when we try to grasp the straws flung at us of ‘Apartheid’s over so get over it’ for comfort, we get the news that one of the two writers of this book conveniently committed suicide after making his own laptop go missing. His calls for witnesses or victims to expose a ‘Third Minister’ are now silenced.
The book is pretty roundabout and tedious, filled with details and vague hints. The dead perpetrators are mentioned by name but you can clearly see the writers holding back, either thinking of legal implications or safety risks.
When you think about it, the caution didn’t help much.
A real life lesson that Apartheid teems with rotten stories not yet uncovered - and not uncovered because Apartheid is so alive and well that those who know are silent for their own safety.
September 25, 2018
While the subject matter is horrifying and important, I must admit that I found the style of writing off-putting. I also found that not much was exposed (as promised by the word 'exposé') in the subtitle. The details were sketchy, unexplained, and I couldn't help think that the investigation was not as in-depth as suggested.
Regardless, it's essential that South Africans investigate these awful allegations once more. I also suspect there are many more skeletons in the old SADF and NP closet, considering how members refused to volunteer information during the TRC hearings.
Regardless, it's essential that South Africans investigate these awful allegations once more. I also suspect there are many more skeletons in the old SADF and NP closet, considering how members refused to volunteer information during the TRC hearings.
August 28, 2018
I really wanted to like this book. I kept waiting for the book to pick up and the facts to be laid out, neither of which happened. The whole book is built around the heresay evidence of a teenage boy years ago, a boy that nobody can trace and whose name is unknown, even to the authors. I’m not necessarily questioning the authenticity of the allegations, but I do feel that they were ill substantiated and that the book just lacked depth. Unfortunately the book fell far from my expectations.
November 20, 2018
a shocking expose of how power not only corridors but does so absolutely, insight into some of apartheid underhanded dealings and how the powers that be used their positions to exploit those that are poor and are without proper guidance , love and care, not only did they rape and abuse these young boys for pennies but they destroy them.
August 13, 2018
Heroes have feet of clay
A stunning exposure that has the ring of truth about it. Those were years that those who were there knew that there were affairs afoot that were secret. That these affairs seemingly included paedophilia, shocks me, even if it doesn't surprise.
Read it.
A stunning exposure that has the ring of truth about it. Those were years that those who were there knew that there were affairs afoot that were secret. That these affairs seemingly included paedophilia, shocks me, even if it doesn't surprise.
Read it.
August 14, 2018
Terribly sad that Mark Minnie had to die for writing this book. A few glaring spelling and grammar issues which Tafelberg Publishers should have ironed out.
September 1, 2018
Tip van die ysberg
Stadig kom die waarheid uit. Hopelik sal meer mense na vore kom oor die misdade van die apartheid regering. M
Stadig kom die waarheid uit. Hopelik sal meer mense na vore kom oor die misdade van die apartheid regering. M
June 28, 2023
Not sure why ths book still appears on GoodReads.
All of the accusations made in the book has been thorougly debunked. The book has been taken off the shelves, and all unsold copies destroyed.
The publishers has apologised to Barend du Plessis, the only still living person accused in the book and a substantial amount in damages has been paid to him.
To date, none of the alleged victims have come forward and William Hart (pseudonym) has given several sworn affidavits, refuting any of the events where he was named as victim in the book.
It should also be noted that William Hart is an old school friend of Mark Minnie. They are of the same age, so at the time of the alleged incidents he wouldve been in his 20's.
Similarly, the alleged treating doctor, has signed a sworn affidavit, where he denies ever treating a young gunshot victim as alleged in the book. In fact it is claimed that it is medically unlikely to survive a gunshot wound of that nature.
Mark Minnie alleges that the docket he was working on investigating the alleged incidents disappeared. He even names the senior prosecutor that he dealt with.
Spoiler alert. Adv. Scott, the prosecutor name has given a sworn statement where he denies destroying/hiding of any docket. He even goes further to state there was no docket to begin with and that prior to 2018, he never even heard of Mark Minnie.
Journalists have investigated and had numerous interviewa with SAAF pilots, and while it seems to be common to use Air Force helicopters to ferry ministers to the island for fishing trips (our tax money wasted), it would have been logistically impossible to ferry boys to the island without wider knowledge.
The island was not uninhabited. There was ongoing guano mining on the island, and the head of operations Mr Benecke signed a sworn affidavit stating that he was always present whenever ministers visited the island and under no circumstances where there ever any person of any race under the age of 21 on the island.
Similarly there was a research team on the island at the time of the alleged Barend du Plessis visit. There is a sworn affidavit of one of the researchers where he clearly state that Barend du Plessis stayed in the bungalow next to his and that the entire time they were there, there were no boys. The research team stayed on the island for 7 week stretches.
More importantly, the Private investigator hired by the Human Rights Commission found no evidence of wrongdoing on the ministers side. In fact, all evidence pointed to Mark Minnie making wild accusations with no evidence or witnesses to back up his claims.
The Child Protection Service of the SA Police has been investigating the accusations since the launch of the book in 2018. 5 years later and to date not a single person has been arrested, new evidence presented or victims that came forward.
There is a lot more witnesses that since came forward to give sworn statements that contradict almost all of the claims made in the book.
Respected investigative journalists like Jacques Paauw and Derek Watts has also thorougly investigated the claims and both came to the same conclusion : the event were fabricated by Minnie.
All of the accusations made in the book has been thorougly debunked. The book has been taken off the shelves, and all unsold copies destroyed.
The publishers has apologised to Barend du Plessis, the only still living person accused in the book and a substantial amount in damages has been paid to him.
To date, none of the alleged victims have come forward and William Hart (pseudonym) has given several sworn affidavits, refuting any of the events where he was named as victim in the book.
It should also be noted that William Hart is an old school friend of Mark Minnie. They are of the same age, so at the time of the alleged incidents he wouldve been in his 20's.
Similarly, the alleged treating doctor, has signed a sworn affidavit, where he denies ever treating a young gunshot victim as alleged in the book. In fact it is claimed that it is medically unlikely to survive a gunshot wound of that nature.
Mark Minnie alleges that the docket he was working on investigating the alleged incidents disappeared. He even names the senior prosecutor that he dealt with.
Spoiler alert. Adv. Scott, the prosecutor name has given a sworn statement where he denies destroying/hiding of any docket. He even goes further to state there was no docket to begin with and that prior to 2018, he never even heard of Mark Minnie.
Journalists have investigated and had numerous interviewa with SAAF pilots, and while it seems to be common to use Air Force helicopters to ferry ministers to the island for fishing trips (our tax money wasted), it would have been logistically impossible to ferry boys to the island without wider knowledge.
The island was not uninhabited. There was ongoing guano mining on the island, and the head of operations Mr Benecke signed a sworn affidavit stating that he was always present whenever ministers visited the island and under no circumstances where there ever any person of any race under the age of 21 on the island.
Similarly there was a research team on the island at the time of the alleged Barend du Plessis visit. There is a sworn affidavit of one of the researchers where he clearly state that Barend du Plessis stayed in the bungalow next to his and that the entire time they were there, there were no boys. The research team stayed on the island for 7 week stretches.
More importantly, the Private investigator hired by the Human Rights Commission found no evidence of wrongdoing on the ministers side. In fact, all evidence pointed to Mark Minnie making wild accusations with no evidence or witnesses to back up his claims.
The Child Protection Service of the SA Police has been investigating the accusations since the launch of the book in 2018. 5 years later and to date not a single person has been arrested, new evidence presented or victims that came forward.
There is a lot more witnesses that since came forward to give sworn statements that contradict almost all of the claims made in the book.
Respected investigative journalists like Jacques Paauw and Derek Watts has also thorougly investigated the claims and both came to the same conclusion : the event were fabricated by Minnie.
June 24, 2022
This is a book about a paedophilia ring amongst powerful people in the highest echelons of South African politics in the 1980's. When a reporter started digging, there were quite a few suicides ( actually probably execution, but the investigations were pathetic ) of people who presumably had info that could hurt. All of these suicides (executions) had one thing in common- there was always a suicide note. I find myself wondering if anyone examined the suicide notes to see if they were written by the same hitman? That was a time when powerful people could get away with a lot of shenanigans- it seems! One of the authors of this book, Mark Minnie, a retired cop, was found dead the exact week that the book was published. The nervous press stated that 'The murky circumstances of a possible suicide remain unclear'. When you read the book, it's pretty clear that Minnie did not commit suicide. You'll have to read it now to make up your own mind. I found the content exceedingly interesting especially as it relates to another book I’m reading about Wouter Basson and the covert and corrupt security bureaucracy of South Africa. I find it incredibly disturbing and hard to accept that men of such low moral fibre had/have this amount of power. To me this is a fascinating part of the human psyche and - how did we end up so far down this rabbit hole? This was the 80s. We're even further down the hole, despite free press and social media watchdogs. Can we get out of this pit or is it the human condition? Apart from these philosophical questions that played in my mind, I didn’t find the book fulfilling. It’s clearly written by journalists and not authors. The style of the book is too journalistic for me. It was also unfulfilling as it raised many interesting questions and asked many questions- none of which it even attempted to answer. In short - a hugely interesting topic worth 5 stars, and I'm adding one point for sheet guts in publishing this. Unfortunately, sheer guts did not save Minnie. I had to remove stars, as there was so much potential for this subject matter but the book fails in writing style and depth to book.
July 1, 2020
This was a most gripping and compelling read. I liked the balance between the writing styles of Minnie and Steyn. The biggest downfall of this book for me, was that at times Minnie’s recounts seem over dramatized with a lot of unnecessary detail and I wished they were written in a more neutral to-the-point fashion as it sometimes reads more like a fictional crime thriller than his own memoir. Steyn on the other hand keeps quite a journalistic account of her experience with this story, without the unnecessary fluff.
There has been a lot of debate about the credibility of the subject matter in this book and the controversy around it never seems to cease.
Just a week after it’s publication in August 2018, co-author Mark Minnie died of a reported suicide. In March 2020 the publisher made a decision to withdraw the book completely.
As the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire and personally, I don’t think that the claims are completely unfounded because it is a fact that the former cabinet ministers implicated in the book had actually made trips to Bird island. It is a shame however that any further traction on this story will depend entirely on any survivors and victims coming forward. I hope that if this was indeed an unfortunately true story that such people will eventually come forward with more evidence to put this speculation to rest.
There has been a lot of debate about the credibility of the subject matter in this book and the controversy around it never seems to cease.
Just a week after it’s publication in August 2018, co-author Mark Minnie died of a reported suicide. In March 2020 the publisher made a decision to withdraw the book completely.
As the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire and personally, I don’t think that the claims are completely unfounded because it is a fact that the former cabinet ministers implicated in the book had actually made trips to Bird island. It is a shame however that any further traction on this story will depend entirely on any survivors and victims coming forward. I hope that if this was indeed an unfortunately true story that such people will eventually come forward with more evidence to put this speculation to rest.
August 20, 2018
I could not put this book down, a real thriller but sad in so many ways ,sad because the Young abused boys never got justice. Sad because even if this story was not true Magnus Malan sounds like the worst of the National party members and he never got punished for “ the abuse” of young boys for his “apartheid atrocities “ and for using people to do his dirty work. And sad because Mark Minnie is dead less than 2 days after the book was published ....it means those powerful men still exist
September 14, 2018
Not a literary masterpiece but story succintly put forward. Many may dispute due to 'missing' facts etc, but maybe one needs to understand the context of the country at the time - lots of facts were and are still missing and many things till today covered up. I believe this story is plausible enough to be true, and I always believe where there's smoke there will be truth...a very sickening, and heartsore truth, but truth...
September 16, 2018
I was disappointed to reach the final chapter only to discover appeals for victims and witnesses to come forward. Somehow I expected that the book would reveal all. Probably my expectation rather than a fault in execution. It doesn’t surprise me that powerful men then abused their privileges, indulged in all-sorts and resorted to vile and cruel deeds. Is it any different now? Sad that Minnie didn’t get the answers and proof.....
August 5, 2022
I feel terrible calling a book “brilliant” because it is filled with detailed accounts of the atrocities and horrors of paedophilia and murder during the apartheid era. It also pisses me off that a certain cabinet ministers name was prevented from being exposed in the book! What nerve!! A brilliant exposé I highly recommend it. The only solace you’ll get though is that the perpetrators are burning in hell
August 23, 2023
It was joke finding out why my parents called their dog Malan, and now I feel so sorry for the dog because of Magnus Malan. I'm disgusted at times by truth that this book has to recall about Bird Island to even welcome a name change from Port Elizabeth and all that dirt. When Mark and Chris finally on the same side 30 years late and greater concerns why the book is important today from impossible to happen back then.
May 15, 2025
This is a shocking account of human evil and cover-ups that protect well-connected people. Despite the horror of sexual exploitation of young boys I was caught up in the investigation, initially at least Towards the end of the book I found it rather depressing because there is a sense that this kind of evil and cover-up is a reality in political circles. It is sobering to face the reality that "lost boys" in every generation will not find a happy ending.
September 13, 2018
This is just the tip of the ice berg, there is global paedophile network - and people are to scared to come forward for fear of their lives. Who is the 4th Minister???? It is still being swept under the carpet!!! His follow up story was On his laptop that was missing when they found him ? #meljacoby #exposepaedophilespublicly #meto #avicci
October 22, 2025
This book shook me to my core!
The Boys of Bird Island is not an easy read—but it’s an incredibly important one. It tells the true story of a horrific child sex ring involving powerful men in apartheid-era South Africa. As I turned each page, I felt anger, heartbreak, disbelief, and deep sorrow for the victims whose lives were destroyed in silence while those in power protected each other.
The Boys of Bird Island is not an easy read—but it’s an incredibly important one. It tells the true story of a horrific child sex ring involving powerful men in apartheid-era South Africa. As I turned each page, I felt anger, heartbreak, disbelief, and deep sorrow for the victims whose lives were destroyed in silence while those in power protected each other.
January 20, 2019
Quite an unbelievable story - horrific if true - of a group of apartheid leaders in a paedophile ring. Only those who are no longer alive have been named, which is confusing. Written by two authors, with chapters switching between them, not a great format.
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