Barend Strydom

Infobox Mass Murderer
name = Barend Strydom


image_size =
caption =
birthname = Barend Hendrik Strydom
occupation =
birth = 1965
location =
death =
deathplace =
cause =
penalty = Sentenced to death,
released in 1992
date = November 15, 1988
locations = Strijdom Square,
Pretoria, South Africa
fatalities = 8
injuries = 16
weapons = Pistol (9mm)

Barend Hendrik Strydom also known as the "Wit Wolf" (white wolf), is a convicted spree killer who was sentenced to death for shooting dead eight black people (and wounding 16 more) in Strijdom Square in Pretoria, South Africa on November 15, 1988. He had earlier killed a woman in a trial run in preparation for the massacre.

At time of the crime, only 23 years of age, Strydom claimed he was the leader of the "Wit Wolwe". Police later found that this was only a figment of Strydom's imagination. Strydom, who claimed to be a Christian, meditated and prayed for a number of days before committing the crime; he later claimed that God gave him no sign that he must "not" carry on with his plans.

Strydom was sentenced to death, but the South African government declared a moratorium on capital punishment in 1990. He was released in 1992 by President F W de Klerk as one of 150 political prisoners, including Robert McBride from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Strydom was granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the first democratic elections in 1994.

ee also

* White supremacy
* History of South Africa in the apartheid era

External links

* [http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1355121,00.html Wit Wolf: Amnesty probe ]
* [http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1354720,00.html Sentence 'a warning to racists' ]
* [http://www.africacrime-mystery.co.za/books/fsac/chp25.htm The Strijdom Square Massacre]
* [http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pr/1992/pr0929.html Statement On Misrepresentation Over Release Of Barend Strydom]